What Makes a Hero
by Miss Optimism
Summary: Team Plasma has taken over Unova, and one Top Ranger has been unwillingly assigned to fix it. Taking down a whole government can be hard, but not if you've got an overprotective Zoroark with a top hat, a hyperactive rookie with an attitude, a badass trainer with a thirst for revenge, and a bird-brained Archen on your side. This will be one heck of a ride!
1. The Adventure Begins!

Hello, and welcome to my first story! I'm not asking you to go easy on the critiquing just because I'm new. I'm actually asking you to be harder on me, so I can get better. So if my story's terrible, tell me! I'll try and make it better.

Thank you for clicking on this link, and now, without further ado... **Let The Adventure Begin!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon, or anything related to that!

**Part One: The World Needs Heroes**

* * *

"We thank once again the hero of our city, Ranger Rex Kenzington and his partner Almos, for rescuing our city once again from the devastating flood." The mayor concluded the speech, folding the paper back and stepping down from the podium. Rex Kenzington was leaning against city hall, and waved his hand to acknowledge the crowd. The Zoroark next to him tipped his signature top-hat and winked, causing many female Pokemon to faint.

"Come on, Boss, be happy! They're all ch-ch-cheering for you," Almos whispered, nudging the half-asleep ranger. Sometimes his partner could be so inconsiderate, especially with other people and crowds. A Zoroark couldn't talk normally, but thanks to the mechanics back at the Ranger's Union, they had developed a Pokemon-translator. It took the form of a silver collar around Almos' neck, and let out soft 'bleeps' and 'bloops' occasionally. It was only a prototype though, and glitched up often, hence the 'ch-ch-cheering' By now, most of the crowd had dispersed leaving the Ranger and his partner alone in the shade.

"I would be more enthusiastic, if _someone_ didn't wake me up at four in the morning to go train!" He closed his eyes and yawned, wishing to be snuggled up under the covers right about now. It was seven o'clock, and Rex was extremely tired. Not to mention, the minute his partner let him rest he got a call to save the town from a flood. He swore, these people couldn't keep themselves out of trouble for one minute! But it was doing deeds like this with ease that earned him the title, "Top Ranger"

"Excuse me for trying to keep you in s-s-shape!" Almos growled, folding his arms. 'A top ranger has to be ready for anything', was Almos' philosophy. Sadly, 'anything' for Rex meant doing obscure drills really early in the morning with little to no warning. Rex stuck his tongue out at the Zoroark. Almos huffed and turned away. Almos hated when his partner was mad at him, and Rex could see that.

"How about this? We go get coffee, whatever you'd like, and then I'll forgive you," Rex bribed, trying to make it up to his partner. "My treat." Almos adored coffee, but he only liked the fancy brands, which were hard to come by and were often expensive for the meager salary that the Ranger's got. After all, they were helping their Region and that is almost like community service, as the Ranger company doesn't get paid for that. Sometimes a Ranger would get money as a reward for doing a quest, but that was rare.

"As good as that sounds, you're not allowed c-coffee. You're _o-only_ fifteen," Almos refused, shaking his head.

"Awwwwwwh! That's not fair," Rex whined, sticking his tongue out like a toddler. As old as he was, Rex still acted like a little kid. But when it came down to business, he could be pretty professional and stop a pack of Tauros without breaking a sweat.

"Life's not fair. G-get a grip," Almos deadpanned.

"Fine, _Mom."_ Rex mocked. Almos was sort of a helicopter parent to Rex. Since Rex worked so far away from his family, Almos took on the parent roll. Almos usually felt that Rex was his responsibility, and that annoyed the boy to wits end.

"Why don't we get a bagel instead?" Rex offered, his stomach growling. Breakfast had been out of the question when a town was in peril. "I'll pay!"

"Fine by me-e," Almos responded. A bagel was a healthy-ish food choice, _and_ one of the Zoroark's favorite. Suddenly, instead of the Fox Pokemon beside Rex, there was a short, blue-haired boy wearing a top hat. The translator took the form of a bracelet around his wrist. The blue haired boy smiled. Almos preferred his human form to any other, and pulled down his top hat with a satisfied smirk. "Let's go!"

Just as the two were sitting down in a quaint restaurant with their bagels, Rex's phone bleeped out it's "Mission Impossible theme" ring tone. "Damnit." Rex cursed, seeing that it was the Boss that was calling. He knew immediately that it was bad news. The Boss _never_ called him, unless an emergency. "Breakfast is gonna have to wait."

* * *

"Hello Rex. I trust that the job went well?" The Boss said, kicking his feet up on the desk. He was young, maybe in his twenties, but already had some gray hair. It was all the stress of the job. Rangers were looked upon to solve the world's problems, after all, and he led the organization. After crime gangs started stirring up in Kanto, Rangers had been assigned to all other regions to stop them. It worked well... up until the Monochrome Incident.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cut the crap. Why'd you call me? I'll let you know that I'm enjoying a perfectly good bagel right now." The Boss could hear Rex's irritation through the phone.

"Always one to the point, aren't you boy?" The Boss laughed. "But, we're talking serious business now. No more jokes."

"Fine. Now, what do you need me to do for you _this_ time?" Rex guessed mockingly, "Stop a hoard of Mewthrees attacking the secret space station?" He laughed, even though it wasn't all that funny.

"Hahah, no. You're stopping Team Plasma this time."

Rex's laughter abruptly ended. "Wait, what?! But, aren't they the new Unovian Government? How am I supposed to take down a government?! Are you joking?"

"Rex, I never joke," The boss stated flatly. "And it's simple. You're Rex Kenzington, Top Ranger and hero in all of Almia." Rex snorted, and the Boss sighed. "Now boy, I'm not saying this will be an easy mission-"

"No shit sherlock."

"Don't interrupt me," The Boss chided, his tone suddenly deadly. He vaguely heard Almos scolding Rex as well. "But it is a necessity. We've gotten reports that Team Plasma is going to try and take over the other regions. We need you to stop it."

"But how am I supposed to hide Almos?! He's illegal property! Captive Pokemon are outlawed there, you know."

"He's got that translator, right? And he can transform into a human, _right_?" The Boss sat up in his desk, drumming his fingers. Rex could be so ignorant.

"Right, but it malfunctions and-"

"Just say he's got a stutter, and you'll be fine." Really, this kid could be an idiot. But, there was a reason why the Boss requested him specifically for this job. Rex did the impossible, and it was an impossible task at hand. "No other rangers will be joining you for this mission, as it would attract too much attention. Travel costs such as food and housing will be provided."

"That's all fine and dandy. But, how exactly am I supposed to _get _to Unova. Travel there is exclusive, remember? And Rangers are certainly not allowed in."

"True, true. But not unless you're taking a quest," The boss added slyly.

"Huh?"

"For a part of your mission, you will be accompanied by a girl named Lena Shock. Her parents are Pokemon professors form the Kanto region, and sent Miss Shock to deliver something to a close friend of theirs. While she's traveling around Unova, she'll need bodyguards. That's where you come in. You'll serve as her bodyguards for the remainder of the trip, and when the job is done and Lena goes back to Kanto, you will take down Team Plasma. There are several Team Plasma Headquarters scattered around Unova. That might be a good place to start."

"Oh come on! I don't want to babysit some-"

"The plane tickets will be provided by the Shocks, and no one will know who you and Almos are."

"But with no help?! It's im-"

"Rex. That's why I chose you for the mission. You do the impossible." The Boss was practically begging the boy. He was the only one who could do it, and even though he was immature, he could what most of the Rangers here couldn't. "Rex, you get a chance to go home, and see your mother! Unova's changed, but I'm sure your mother's still as kind as she was last year."

"Still-"

"The reward is 23.5 million Poke-dollars."

"Almos, Road trip!"

* * *

_Three months ago..._  
_"We bring you grave news here at Pokemon News Station," The reporter started, her mouth pursed into a tight line and her hair frazzled. She was standing in front of the Pokemon League in Unova. The building appeared to have a castle around it, and was crumbling a bit. Part of the castle appeared to be on fire! A redheaded girl sat with her parents on the couch, hanging onto every word the reporter said._

_"It appears that- EEK!" Two men in light-blue uniforms pushed the reporter out of the way. A man, and a boy, a few years older than the girl watching the news report, took the reporter's place. One was wearing a intricate robe with eye-like designs, and a red sort of eye patch over one eye. The boy had green hair, like the man, and normal-ish clothes. He had a puzzle-cube type thing hanging from his belt. Both of them commanded the area with quiet authority._

_The older man started, "Hello. I am Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Team Plasma has just defeated the champion and we are now announcing our rule over Unova."_

_Right about now, a big crowd had gathered, to see what was going on. At that statement, many of them shrieked and cried out in fear or puzzlement. The girl sitting on the couch leaned in, her gray eyes widening._

_The man, Ghetsis, smirked at their reactions. "And. since we now rule Unova, We will proceed with our plan to liberate the pokemon from their cruel trainers. We are now giving the order for all residents of Unova to release their pokemon."_

_At that, the girl slammed her hands down on the coffee table, standing up in fury. "What?! He can't do that!"_

_"If you do not comply, you will be sentenced to prison." More shrieks from the crowd. At that, a police officer shoved his way through the crowd, looking furious. He was the chief of police in Unova, and a very powerful man at that. He had received several reports about Team Plasma and stopped them a few times, but he never believed it would come to this. And he was going to try and stop it again._

_"Now see here, Ghetsis or whatever your name is. What power do you have over us? Just what makes you think you can barge in here and take over?" The crowd murmured in agreement, and the Chief of Police crossed his hands over his chest and smirked._

_"What power, you say? Please show them." Ghetsis turned to the stoic green-haired boy beside him, a smirk playing on his lips. The boy nodded, taking a pokeball out and tossing it up._

_A giant black dragon materialized in front of them. It looked battle worn, but let out a furious cry that sent most of the bystanders running._

_"You see, this boy is the chosen hero of Zekrom, and Unova's new King," Ghetsis continued. The police officer gaped at the powerful dragon, trembling in fear. He slowly bowed his head, admitting defeat._

_"You will receive a detailed report of the new government system later. For now, captive pokemon are illegal, and so is contact with wild pokemon. Anyone who tries to oppose us will be hunted down. Good day to you all."_

_The green haired man walked away, and one of the men in blue armor blocked the screen out with his hand. The girl could hear the confused murmurs of the people, before the TV turned to static, ending the broadcast. The girl and both her parents gaped at the TV, still trying to process the monumental information._

_The girl was the first to break the silence, "...What the hell?"_

* * *

"She's l-late..." Almos tapped his foot impatiently. "Our client is late. This is u-unacceptable." If there's one thing Almos couldn't stand, it was people who were late. The two were standing in a small park in Nuvema town. Both were extremely tired from the flight there. The jet lag and Almos' 'no coffee' rule didn't help either.

"Relax," Rex replied, resting against a tree, his eyes closed, "She'll come eventually. And if not, we're already here. We can just leave and be on our merry way." Rex didn't want to take this mission, but the 23.5 million Pokedollars was enough to make him drool at the mere thought. And anyways, he wouldn't like deceiving his client and lying about who he was. He was a honest boy and wouldn't like just ditching his client if she didn't show.

"But she's our c-cover! People will be wary of two boys from the Almia r-region and one that looks almost exactly like the Top Ranger Rex!" The blue-haired boy hissed, taking off his top-hat and twirling it around impatiently.

He turned to face Rex, and was momentarily shocked by the boy's new hair and eyes, before remembering that he had changed them as a disguise. Rex had dyed his blond hair to be a nice strawberry red color, and put in green contacts.

"I s-still can't get used to you with red hair and green eyes. It's t-too... unnatural," Almos said, biting his lip and studying his partner.

"And I'm not used to you as a human," Rex deadpanned, staring off into the distance. Rex usually was used to a Zoroark beside him, not some strange blue-haired boy, as much as Almos liked to masquerade as one. Luckily, Almos had kept his signature top hat which helped a lot in recognizing his partner.

"I'm tirrreeedd Almos!" Rex suddenly whined. "Where's our client? She was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, riiiight?"

Almos nodded, "C-correct. And we were supposed to meet right her-"

"YOLO BITCHES!" A horrifyingly loud scream wrenched its way through the clearing. A few people who were taking walks in the park jumped, looking in the directions of the scream, and a flock of pidove took off in fright.

"What was that?!" Almos demanded, jumping up and glancing around. A bluish human shape suddenly flew down from one of the trees, before swinging back up to a different tree, screaming at the top of it's lungs. Rex recognized the shape to be a human girl, maybe about thirteen or fourteen with spiky red hair in a messy ponytail.

"I LOVE UNOVA!" The girl exclaimed, tossing away the vine the had been swinging on before grabbing onto another. She lept down off the branch she had been standing on, and let out a shrill scream of excitement as she swung through the trees. Vines grew all around Unova, and had a reputation for being extremely fun for young kids to swing on. It took practice, though. But the girl didn't seem to care that she was one slip up away from kissing the dirt every time. "WOOOHOOO!"

"That's so cool! I remember when I used to swing on those." Rex remarked nodding his head and watching the girl swing from vine to vine clumsily. He made a mental note to try that again, and see if he was just as good as when he was a kid. "Wait..." He noticed something about the girl's vine. It looked as if it was... getting thinner around the top, and fraying. It was breaking!

"Hey, lady! Watch out!" He panicked, running towards the girl on the vine.

She turned to look at him, "What-AHH!" The vine snapped, throwing the girl hard against a nearby tree. With a screech, her face met good solid wood.

SLAM!

For a moment there, both boys stood in shock, before Rex took off towards the girl on the ground, Almos right behind him. As Rangers, they both knew first aid, but neither of them were very good with it. "Oh Arceus, please don't be dead. There were no witnesses to see that it wasn't our fault! Please don't be dead..." Rex prayed. One false accusation would get them a one-way ticket back to Almia, and no reward money.

As he got closer, he could see that she was lying on her side with a bloody nose and a large cut on the side of her head. He quickly checked her pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he could feel a steady beat. Luckily, it didn't look like anything was broken or any major injuries.

"She's not in critical c-condition..." Almos assessed, looking her over, "Lucky kid, that tree could have k-killed her." When Rex did nothing, Almos turned to face him, elbowing him in the gut. "She'll still n-n-need some medical help, so pick her up and let's bring her to the PC!"

Rex stuck his tongue out at Almos, struggling to pick the girl up bridal style. He eventually just flung her over his shoulder and grunted. "Ugh... Where's the nearest PC?"

"Accumula town, just a bit farther up Route One. Let's get moving." Carrying the girl was a challenge for Rex. Arcues, what had she been eating! Luckily, route one wasn't very long, and they made it to the Pokemon Center in record time, to Rex's relief.

* * *

"H-hey? Miss... Are you a-alright?" Almos said to the girl lying on the couch. They were in a fairly small room in the Pokecenter. The two were both really shocked when they figured out that it let people just stay the night for free, with free meals! The Pokemon Center used to be for traveling trainers, but now the it was just a motel for sightseers, and _if_ a wild pokemon was hurt.

"Relax, the weird nurse-lady said she'd wake up soon." Rex sat on the chair next to the couch. Nurse Joy had wrapped the girl's head in bandages, and said something about her getting some sleep. So they rented a room (For free!) and dumped the mystery girl on the couch, as they had no idea who she was. They found no ID or trainer cards on the girl, just an old blimp ticket and some money. So, all they can do it wait.

"Yeah, I don't trust someone who has that many 'sisters'." Almos retorted, turning his attention back to the girl. She had short, frazzled orange hair in a messy ponytail, and lots of freckles across her nose. She seemed about fourteen, maybe thirteen, and was wearing a blue sweater with white ribbons on it. The sweater was much too big for her and covered her hands completely. Her head was bandaged from her fall but she also had lots of old bruises and cuts covering her legs.

"Nnnnnnnggggggugh..." A low moan escaped her lips. The girl turned her head to face the wall, gray eyes fluttering open.

"Hey! She's awake," Almos exclaimed, motioning for Rex to come over. "Hey... Are you OK? You t-took a bit of a fall when you crashed into that tr-ree." He spoke in a quiet, soothing tone, despite the stuttering, and smiled kindly.

Rex walked over to the couch. "Hi, you're in the Pokecenter right now." The girl didn't respond, but tugged at the bandages on her head. "Your head's going to be A-OK, don't worry." He assured the girl, smiling.

Gray eyes stared weakly back, assessing two waited for her response patiently. Most people after recovering from an injury talked softly and slowly, and had to process everything before. Most were in shock if they were young.

"That... was... AWESOME!" The girl exclaimed loudly, sitting up. "This region is so cool! Did you see those vines?! I could swing on them like it was nothing! Well, up until the part that it broke... but it was still cool!"

Both Rex and Almos stared in shock at the girl, who seemed like she'd just had three cups of coffee. They had been around a lot of people recovering from the hospital, and none of them have acted like this.

"Yeah, it looked like fun!" Rex said enthusiastically, before being elbowed in the gut by Almos. "But you just slammed into a tree, and it looked like it hurt, are you sure you're OK?."

"Yep! For a minute there, I felt like a pidgey, flying high in the sky," She exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the couch while grinning like a maniac. Rex smiled at her, while Almos sweat-dropped. Maybe she hit her head a bit too hard? An awkward silence ensued, the two staring at the girl.

"So... w-what's your name?" Almos offered, breaking the silence.

"Lena Shock," She answered. The two glanced at each other, their mouths dropping open. She couldn't be Lena Shock... Lena Shock was the name of their client. The one they had to guide around Unova and act as bodyguards for.

"Yep, I'm Lena, and you must be Ryan and Almos! You guys are my human shields, right?" The two sweat dropped.

"Yeah, I'm _Rex_ and this is Almos... But how did you know who we were?" He emphasized his name, but the girl didn't seem to notice her mistake and just shrugged.

"Mom and Dad told me that you looked official. You look official. So, I just sort of guessed. And I guess I'm right then!" She smiled, and jumped up, skipping over to the door and opening it with a loud 'bang!'. She turned to face them impatiently. "_Today_, ladies! Let's get moving. There's a whole region to explore, and I'm ready!"

The two boys stared, but slowly followed her out of the room. As she blabbered on about something both of them really didn't care for, Rex rolled his eyes and face-palmed, already annoyed.

It was defiantly the start of a great adventure.

* * *

So... is it too long? Too short? Please, I live off your critiquing!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Bye bye! See you next time!

~Miss Optimism


	2. Accumula Town Worries

I got a review! And a follower! And twenty views! Well, only seventeen different visitors (counting myself) but it's still an accomplishment! *Snoopy happy dance* So, here's the second chapter. I'm pretty happy it didn't take to long to write, rewrite, and revise. We introduce one of my favorite characters from Black and White in this one, so I had a great time writing this.

Thanks to all sixteen people who took the time to read this, and to my one reviewer/follower! Now... we may begin!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Pokemon. If I did, there would have been some pretty graphic battle scenes and a deeper plot by now!

* * *

"I love Unova!" Lena sang at the top of her lungs, smiling. "Accumula Town is so pretty! Most of the towns back in Kanto are really boring." She stopped to gaze at some flowers, before running off to look at something else. Most of the people milling around were giving her strange looks because of her bandaged head, but she didn't seem to mind or realize the strange looks. The trio had just gotten out of the Pokemon Center, but realized it was fairly late to begin traveling. So they decided to get some fresh air but stay the night at the Pokemon Center so they could start traveling by tomorrow.

Lena had explained to them that she was given a special package from her parents, who were Professor Oak's assistants. Professor Oak was the real sender of the package, but Lena was the delivery girl and was supposed to deliver it to Professor Juniper. _Not_ the nice lady who used to give out free Pokemon, but her father, Cedric Juniper. Lena was sent to Nuvema town and needed to reach Mistralton City, where Professor Juniper was. Apparently, the new government had him under surveillance, so he wasn't allowed to come and receive his package. The planes to Mistralton had also shut down, so Lena was sent by blimp to Nuvema town. Lena didn't exactly know what was in the package. She had tried to open it, but it had given her an electric shock when she tried to take the tape off. She suspected the tape was infused with Joltik webs that would shock anyone trying to open it before it reached it's destination.

The two boys sweat dropped as they watched Lena skip down the street, striking up conversations with random strangers. "Is she always like this?" Rex whispered through his teeth to Almos, squinting at her. Rex was immature, but he wasn't that immature. She was literally skipping around like a two-year-old who just got a ponyta for her birthday.

"I t-think so..." Almos whispered back, eyeing the girl suspiciously. "The file said s-she was a 'hyperactive fourteen y-year old'." Rex and Almos had received a file earlier that day with information about the mission and their client. Strangely enough, it was Lena's parents that had wrote her file, outlining rules such as: "Don't let Lena have soda. Ever."

"Well it could be worse..." Rex shrugged, looking on the bright side. He kind of liked the girl's silly antics, strangely enough. She just seemed really, really energetic, and a _tiny_ bit creepy. Almos just shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. They'd only need to babysit her for a few weeks, and then they'd be home free to destroy Team Plasma and get their reward.

"And, Rex-x," Almos said suddenly, his tone dropping to a whisper. "There's a Team P-plasma Headquarters set up here, you know. It should be a great start to taking down Team Plasma, if we d-destroy it. There are seven in t-total, and one is located here. In fact, it's right down this street." Almos gestured to a tall building that towered over the small suburban houses. It looked out of place among the shorter buildings, and so new it could have sprung up overnight

"Yeah, but _she's_ still here," Rex whispered back. "As much as I can't wait to kick some ass, we can't do anything with a witness. Lena just being here could jeopardize the mission. We wait until she's delivered the package and _then_ we go and save Unova." Almos nodded, approving Rex's plan.

"Hey! Ryan, or whatever your name is." Lena turned around and ran up to them, startling Rex. "You're _also_ supposed to be my tour guide. Tell me something cool about Accumula town."

"My name's _Rex, _wait- tour guide?!"

"Yup! Mom and Dad said that you also knew _lots_ about Unova. Tell me something!" She stared up at him, looking almost like a Lillipup as it begged for food. She was rather short, and even though Rex was on the short side as well, she still had to strain her neck to meet his eyes.

Rex bit his lip. He knew nothing about Accumula town, as he'd grown up in Nimbasa city. He'd never even left Nimbasa until four years ago, where he was enrolled in the Ranger's School. Even when he came to visit his mom, he'd never left Nimbassa city. "Um... well..." The Ranger looked around for something obvious to talk about. Rule number one of impromptu: Utilize your surroundings.

"Uh... Accumula town is a pretty small town." He began, noting the number of buildings compared to other towns. The girl nodded, hanging onto his every word with wide gray eyes. It was frankly freaking him out. He started to panic. He noticed a stage being set up, and his eyes lit up in relief, finding something to divert the girl's attention.

"Oh, look! Something's going on there. Let's check it out," Rex said suddenly, grabbing the girl's hand and dragged her off towards the park. He breathed a sigh of relief when the girl stopped asking questions that he didn't know the answers to. Three men in armor were setting up a podium on a small, makeshift stage in the middle of a park. Rex guessed that they were setting up for some sort of speech. There were many men in armor milling around and setting up banners, so it looked kind of odd, but the passerby's didn't seem to be phased by the presence of the men. It seemed that it happened often.

"Huh! They're wearing weird clothes, like armor. I'm not good with clothes, or fashion in general, but I think they're pretty weird. I wouldn't show my face in public wearing that!" Lena laughed, pointing at the men setting up a podium. They were wearing rather silly white and blue uniforms. She spoke rather loud, to Rex's dismay, and many people waiting for the speech turned to give her scorching looks. She didn't even seem to notice. "And they're all redheads! Like us." She grabbed a strand of Rex's hair and yanked, pulling on her own hair in the process.

"Owowow! Let go, lady!" Rex struggled to free himself from her iron grip. She let go with a huff and pouted. "You're no fun." Rex couldn't decide to be confused, or infuriated. She had just pulled his hair, yet acted like he was the bad guy for not playing along!

"Well, when you yank my hair out of my skull, I can get a little grumpy." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice. Lena stuck her tongue out at Rex, kicking him lightly. Rex kicked her back, growling.

"G-guys! S-stop it," Almos growled sensing a fight. He then turned and glared at the redheaded boy. "_Behave."_

"But! It's not my fault! She started-"

"N-no buts." Almos crossed his arms, sounding very parentally. "You're the o-older one, you need to be more responsible." Rex frowned. He _was_ her bodyguard, but that's why Rex had Almos. To be the mature one.

"Hey! Aly, you stutter," Lena stated flatly, staring up at the blue-haired boy. She didn't even realize she was being rude. She said it as she would state a fact, like 'The sky is blue.'

Almos' eyes bulged. He had just been insulted, but the girl didn't even seem to notice. Almos needed to slap some manners into this child. Rex grinned, Almos would finally chew out this girl! "_Excuse_ me! My name is _Almos_ and I was born with a-"

"I think it's cool!" She added sweetly, beaming up at him. "And I like your top hat. It's really soph-is-ti-cated." She said the word 'sophisticated' emphasizing the syllables and acting like a child who was just learning how to speak.

"W-why, thank you," He said, his mood suddenly changed from angry to blushing. Lena beamed back at him, tapping his top hat. "H-hey, there's someone walking up onto the stage," Almos pointed out, cocking his head to get a better view.

"Wow, he has weirder clothes then the others!" Lena exclaimed, standing up on her toes to see over the crowd. It was true, the tall, green-haired man was wearing an intricate robe with colorful eye-like designs _and_ a crown sort of sewn in the robe to top it off. Lena suddenly squinted at the man and pursed her lips together. "Huh... Is he?" She trailed off.

"Rex, I don't like this," She said suddenly, her tone dropping to a whisper. Her brow was furrowed and her features bunched in worry. "These people..." She trailed off, staring up at them with wide gray eyes. Rex frowned, biting his lip and contemplating why the redheaded girl was so upset.

"It can't be that bad, Lena. Let's see what this dude has to say." Rex shrugged. He really didn't care about the speech that much, it was just a ploy to stop Lena from asking so many questions about Accumula Town. But, it looked kind of interesting. The way these people carried themselves with such authority intrigued the young boy.

"Greetings, citizens of Accumula town." A loud voice rang through the park. It commanded the air and everyone in a nearby radius looked up to the podium. Rex looked up to see the tall man with green hair and a intricate robe standing behind the podium, waving his hand in the air to acknowledge the crowd. He had a red eyepatch, and many guards in white and blue armor flanking him.

"I am Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages," He started. "Unova has become a sanctuary for Pokemon to live and be the perfect beings they were, away from harmful trainers and battlers." He began. His words wove through the crowd in such a way, that even Rex found himself agreeing with the mysterious man and thinking, _Yeah... Come to think of it, I haven't seen any Pokemon hurt or miserable in this region yet._

"And that is all thanks to Team Plasma and your new King, the Chosen Hero of Zekrom." At that, Rex snapped out of his trance, recognizing the organization's name. _So this is Team Plasma..._ He thought, crossing his arms and studying the guards. They looked pretty burly, but nothing he couldn't handle. Almos nudged Rex, his eyes wide open with excitement, and Rex nodded back. They needed to pay attention.

"But far away, the cries of abused Pokemon call out to us. There are still trainers in existence! The world has not become perfect, as Pokemon continue to be harmed and forced to battle against their will. We must liberate the Pokemon from trainers in the other regions!" Rex gritted his teeth. This man was suggesting taking over the other regions! But the way he said it made no one in the crowd worried about waging war, whatever he said was fine in their book. Every syllable he stressed and word he held out and the pauses he took hypnotized the crowd. That one man could take over the crowd like this, frankly, infuriated and scared Rex.

He heard a slight growling sound coming from next to him. Lena was standing, her body forward in a attacking position, one that was similar to the stance Machoke take before battling, and hatred burning in her eyes. He lightly touched her arm, snapping her out of her trance. She looked at him furiously, pointing at Ghetsis and mouthing something that looked like a string of swears. He nodded, but put a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet for just a little while longer. Lena stomped her foot, growling, but turned back to the speech.

"People of Accumula town, I ask you to assist us in our cause of creating a perfect world where Pokemon and People are happy _everywhere_, not just in our region of Unova. I end my words here for today by imploring you to think about the relationships with people and Pokemon in other regions... and to consider the correct way to proceed. Team Plasma thanks you for your time." And with that, he strode away, not even acknowledging the whispering crowd. His guards rushed to flank him, gathering up the banners and podium. Soon enough, there was no trace that the mysterious speech took place.

"Yeah... He's right!" A man next to Almos exclaimed, turning to a lady with her hair in a bun. "Pokemon are still being abused in other regions. I remember what I used to make my poor friends go through... I don't know how they stood it!"

The lady nodded sadly, "We should see what we can do to help. No Pokemon anywhere should suffer like ours again." Rex stared at the couple, his mouth wide open, as they began to walk away. It was shocking about how the crowd could be won over so easily. How could they think that life without Pokemon was good?! He knew he'd be miserable without Almos, even though his partner could be a prick sometimes.

"Bullshit." He heard Lena mutter. "Complete and utter bullshit!" Most of the crowd had walked away, so no one could hear her, thankfully. "How could he manipulate those people so easily? I knew that Pokemon were outlawed, but I thought people would be protesting and unhappy, not accepting it with open arms!" Rex nodded, still at a loss for words, as Lena paced around, growling.

"Maybe it's because the citizens of Unova finally see the truth, and that Pokemon are happier without trainers." A voice right next to Lena spoke. Rex pivoted to see a green-haired boy standing behind the redheaded girl. In the boy's hand was a puzzle cube. His hat covered up most of his face, so Rex could only see his lips pursed in a straight line.

"What the hell?!" Lena screamed, obviously not used to people sneaking around right behind her. She jumped, turning to face the greenette. "That scared me!" She pouted. "And, I know that's not the truth. Well, I might not know what _is_ the truth, because I lie a lot... but I've seen people happy with Pokemon! I'm from Kanto, which is literally the Battle Region, and I've seen happy Pokemon."

"So you've never seen one abused Pokemon?" His voice was taunting her, and he lifted his head ever so slightly to reveal piercing green eyes under his hat. He didn't exactly smirk as he said this, but his voice held such authority that it sounded like a challenge. Rex felt he needed to step in.

"Listen, Buster," Rex started angrily, "Sure, I've seen plenty of abused Pokemon but that doesn't mean-"

"But it does." He said, cutting Rex off. Rex threw a murderous look at him, but the boy continued. "Now, Pokemon and people are pure. Separated yet perfect. Yin and Yang. We are now what we were always meant to be. Black and white." He took a pace forward, and Rex immediately stepped forward as well, sensing a slight threat.

"I personally prefer rainbow." Lena growled, lifting her chin up and glaring at him, even though he towered over her. "And I don't care how many reasons you give me about how Pokemon and People need to be separated to be perfect blah de blah de blah. I am as stubborn as hell, and nothing's gonna change that. Your argument could be the best in the world, but I wouldn't give a crap."

"I appreciate your spirit," The boy said, again, his voice holding authority but somehow no malice or sarcasm. "But trust me, you will come to change your mind on your trip here, Miss Lena Shock."

Lena gaped at him. "H-how'd you-"

"I think you should be more careful on whom you speak with. I am N, King of Unova, and now I must take my leave." With that, N turned around and walked swiftly away, leaving a very shocked trio. Almos glanced at both of them, his expression worried. Lena looked downright furious, while Rex was contemplating something, but hatred was also burning in the young ranger's eyes.

Lena turned to face them, the hatred slowly draining from her eyes, replaced by worry. "This is some deep trouble we're in, huh? A king! No, _the_ king! Damn, I can't just shut up, can I?"

Almos decided to be truthful, as honesty was his best policy. "W-well, no, from the few hours I've been with you, I don't think-k you can."

She socked him in the arm. "Why don't _you _shut up!?" She growled, sticking her tongue out at him. Almos frowned. He was just trying to cheer her up. "Anyways, I hope they all burn in hell." Lena stated flatly, before walking in the direction of the Pokemon Center. "I'm going in for some food, so I can pretend my steak is Ghetsis' face and stab it."

Rex stood, watching Lena go into the Pokemon center, stomping her feet in frustration. He felt the exact same way about the man who had given the speech. He _hated_ the way Ghetsis was able to manipulate his thoughts _and_ the crowd's thoughts so easily. It made him feel weak and vulnerable. Rex hated feeling helpless, and the way Ghetsis had had him hooked from the first sentence made him feel helpless all right.

"Almos, change of plans," Rex whispered to his partner, gritting his teeth. He knew now that Team Plasma was too big a threat to wait. Witness or no witness, Rex needed to do something fast. "We take down Team Plasma, _tonight_."

* * *

The next chapter will be awesome, I promise. I will finally get a chance to write battle scenes! Well, I think this chapter was kind of bland, but we introduced N! And Ghetsis is just plain cool, but evil, too. They're my favorite characters.

Thanks to all who took the time to read this! Bye bye for now!

~Miss Optimism


	3. Taking Down Team Plasma, With Style!

The next chapter is UP! And you all get to see my *attempt* at writing a battle scene. HOPEFULLY IT'S GOOD! I'd love your critiquing... *Hinthint*

Now, without further ado... CHAPTER THREE

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN POKEMON! Or else... yeah. I'LL THINK OF SOMETHING LATER!

* * *

Rex had always wanted to be a ninja when he was younger. He thought that being invisible and defeating your enemies before they even saw you was pretty dang awesome. Not to mention ninjas got their own super-cool weapons and a black suit. It was fantasies like that pushed him to become a ranger. His mom suggested it, after pretending that their neighbor was an evil crime gang leader and ambushing her on the street. He thought the idea was boring at first, at least to his six-year-old mind. And the Ranger School was so far away from Nimbasa city! Even though he did eventually become a ranger, he still thought being a ninja would be way cooler.

Sneaking past buildings in the cover of shadows made him relive his childhood dream. He was wearing all-black, and a mask to cover his face. Almos had reverted back to a Zoroark, and was currently running beside him. Being a dark-type, Almos preferred look like a Zoroark on this mission. It was close to eleven at night after all, so The Zoroark was right at home in the darkness. He still kept his top hat, insisting that it was all part of his 'look'.

They had left the Pokemon Center just about an hour ago. The passerby's hadn't made it easy for the duo in trying to sneak past without getting caught. Rex didn't want anyone to have even seen him. They actually both thought getting out unseen would be harder, but their client had been strangely quiet after today's events. She went right onto bed without a word. Rex wasn't one to pass up good fortune, so he passed it off as she was just mad and tired. It had been a long day for the girl, after all.

Rex turned to face his partner, catching his breath as they slowed their footsteps and approached the tall building. They didn't dare speak, because there were four armed Plasma Grunts with a vicious looking Krokorok. At once, Rex ducked behind a nearby tree as a patrol of Team Plasma grunts approached his way. Almos just simply melted in the background, while the two watched carefully for an entrance. The guards at the front gate let them in with a nod, recognizing the uniforms. No opening was made, so the team relaxed.

_The windows are locked, I see security cams, and the only way of access we can see is blocked by guards..._ Rex thought, biting his lip. _Almos could probably take on the Krokorok, but they'd probably call for reinforcements before he defeated it._ Almos analyzed the building with his piercing blue eyes, trying to locate a waypoint. The night elapsed into silence, as the two pondered their takeover of the building.

"So, are we going to blow up this building or what?" A single voice cut through the silence like a knife, causing both of the boys to jump. Standing nearby and dressed in all black was, none other than, Lena, grinning like a maniac.

"Lena?!" Rex hissed, his eyes widening in shock. "H-how, what? How'd you get here?!" Almos gaped at the girl with wide eyes, speechless, for once.

"Simple. You guys were going to do something fun without me, so I decided to come too! I didn't _exactly_ know what you were doing, but I figured it out when you guys arrived. And I wanna beat up those buttheads too!"

"Lena," Rex stated, rubbing his temples. She could jeopardize the mission by just being here! She hasn't had any training, _and_ by the looks of her, is weaker than a Magikarp. "Lena. This is something we need to d-"

"But, when am I ever going to have a chance to destroy a building alongside a Top Ranger?! Yolo!" She pouted, looking up at Rex with wide gray eyes.

Rex was about to say something sarcastic, when Almos took a sharp intake of breath, his neon blue eyes going wide. "W-wait, you knew we were Top Rangers?!" The Zoroark insisted, panic hinting in his voice. If Lena could figure out their secret, other people that they didn't want knowing could too.

"Yeah, duh! I watch TV you know. Almia isn't that far away from Kanto, so we get most of the same news, you know? Oh, and you guys should probably think of code names, by the way. Though, transforming as a human with a translator works pretty well too..." She shrugged, like it was nothing. The two gaped at her. "Oh yeah, you left your styler in the bathroom. That was kind of solid proof right there." She handed Rex his styler, giggling.

Almos smacked Rex upside his head, frowning. "I t-told you you should have double checked every-ything!"

Rex took his styler and placed it on his belt, rolling his eyes at his partner. He was about to send Lena back to the Pokemon Center when she interrupted again.

"And _if_ you try to send me back, I'll scream and alert those buttheads that a famous Top Ranger is here and trying to take over the building!" She beamed at the two, bouncing slightly. Rex stared at this girl. Was she seriously blackmailing him? Who did she think she was?! He gave a slight huff, having an inner argument with himself about whether to let her stay or knock her out and take her back to the Pokemon Center, before crossing his arms and staring at her.

"You can stay and help us blow up this building," He finally answered. Lena jumped up, giving a little cheer, but was quickly shushed by the two boys. "Sorry!" She hissed, her tone quiet again. Almos slowly shook his head, disagreeing with the entire plan. Rex could see this was going in a bad direction already.

"So, Lena," He said sarcastically, rubbing his temples, "How do you propose we get in?" He was expecting her to be baffled by the simple question, and then agree to be sent home.

"Simple!" She beamed at the two, eager to relay her master plan. "Did you ever hear the story about how the famous Lyra Soul took down Team Rocket?"

A sly smile spread across both the boy and Zoroark's face, as a group of three Plasma Guards marched past.

* * *

"Can we look now?!" Rex hissed, covering his eyes with his hands. They both were politely turned away as Lena changed behind a rock. She was taking an extremely long time, much longer than they had taken, and that annoyed both Rex and Almos. It wasted precious seconds of their plan.

"NO!" She whispered harshly, sticking her tongue out at the two, even though they couldn't see it. Lena adjusted a few more things, and then stood up, brushing down her uniform. "_Now_ you can look!" The two turned to see Lena in a slightly worn Team Plasma's uniform, striking a pose. "It's lucky we're both redheads! And that Almos can shape shift." She remarked, fingering a lock of stray hair that escaped from the hood. Almos had transformed into a boy with red hair, instead of blue, for this purpose. It was almost creepy, how all the grunts were redheads, but it helped the trio with disguises.

"Hmmm..." Rex investigated her to make sure that the uniform was on correctly. He bit his lip, and then adjusted her hood with a small nod. He smiled. "Perfect!" Lena flashed a peace sign and struck a pose, grinning at the two. "Now, we take down Team Plasma!"

* * *

Three grunts walked down the hallway. One of them was a girl who kept stumbling, shaking with excitement for some reason. The other two were walking with purpose, and kept nudging the girl to stop tripping. Rood, of the Seven Sages, thought it was quite an unusual sight. Rood had been a member of Team Plasma since they had started, and was extremely devoted to the king. His status as a sage was highly coveted, _and_ he was very proud of it.

Rood had been assigned to the base in Accumula town to keep an eye on things here, and to keep the public under control. Rebellions could be dangerous, and it was his job to make sure they didn't happen here. Luckily, Ghetsis and the Young King's daily speeches kept the people happy and under their thumbs.

Rood watched the three disappear down a hallway, cocking his head. There was something different about them from the other grunts. He decided to follow them, and, with a swish of his long robe, strode down the hallway.

Rood soon could see them clearly, and was walking a comfortable pace behind them. There was something different about them. The taller boy and the girl both had hair that just seemed too... red. It was a more natural color than the norm of the Plasma Grunts. The shorter boy was also strange and walked with an unusual gait, almost like a bipedal Pokemon. Not to mention the fact that the shorter boy was wearing a top hat, which was quite puzzling in itself.

The girl looked back with wide gray eyes, noticing him, before nudging the taller boy and whispering urgently. The boy didn't appear to react. He simply turned a corner quickly, dragging the other two along. Rood raised his eyebrows and followed them, only to see a dead end with no one there.

Rood looked around, intrigued by the situation. "Hmmm..." Slowly, a flash of black caught his eye. A top hat drifted slowly to the ground. Rood picked it up, before slowly turning his head upwards and seeing a shoe crashing into his face.

"Yay!" Lena cheered, jumping over the unconscious body of the Plasma Guard. "I defeated a bad guy! I'm a hero now!" The other two jumped down from the beams that supported the ceiling. Almos had hoisted them up with his Pokemon-strength while trying to avoid the Sage.

"No so fast, kid." Rex said, slowly turning to see in the hallway seven burly Plasma Grunts. "We've got a long way to go." Rex and Almos got quickly into defensive positions, while Lena bared her fists and grinned, ready for some action.

One of the Plasma Grunts simply pointed at Rex, and a Sandile leaped towards the group, it's teeth bared. About five other Sandiles leapt towards them, following the lead Sandile. Rex smashed it with his fist, pulling out his styler and quickly drawing loops around another one of them. Almos grinned, transforming back into a Zoroark, and then sharpening his claws for an Aerial Ace. Lena let out a little battle cry, and kicked a Sandile away that was trying to bite her leg.

Rex's styler let out a little 'capture confirmed' in it's squeaky voice. Rex smiled, and a very dazed Sandile sat at attention, as sort of creepy smile plastered on its face. Rex was about to order it to attack when he heard Lena scream. A guard was holding both of her hands behind her back, grinning sadistically as she struggled.

"Sandile, attack that guard!" The Sandile obediently leaped towards the guard, latching onto his head with razor-like teeth. Lena smiled at Rex, but he gave her an annoyed look. Lena stuck her tongue back out at him, and roundhouse kicked a guard that was advancing towards her in the ribs. He let out a little 'oomph' but aimed a punch at her head, which Rex blocked and hit him over the head with his styler.

Almos had finished demolishing the Sandiles (Except for the one Rex had captured) and transformed back into a human. He turned to face one of the Team Plasma Guards. "H-hello!" He called cheerfully, before disappearing into darkness and appearing behind the poor guard in an instant. The guard let out a squeak of surprise, before Almos punched her in the face, smiling. "And goodby-ye!"

Rex blocked a punch nimbly, before grabbing the grunt's hand and swinging him around where Lena's fist was waiting. The guard fell to the floor. "Four down, three to go." Rex said, advancing on the three remaining guards.

"Not anymore!" Lena screamed, pointing at about twenty guards that had filled the small hallway.

"Oh Arceus," Rex cursed. The grunts began to advance, while the three that they had cornered joined the ranks of the twenty. Suddenly, Rex got an idea. "Almos, transform into a Whirlipede!"

Almos grinned, knowing exactly what Rex meant. He transformed into the bug Pokemon, and then proceeded to roll towards the lines of guards at top speed.

"It's like bowling!" Lena exclaimed as guards went flying with sickening crunches. Almos then crashed into a wall, creating a giant hole, for a flashy finish. "Strike." Rex said, grinning like a maniac. The two high-fived as the grunts tried to recover from Almos' attack.

"BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!" A red light began flashing as an alarm began to scream. The hole that Almos had blast into the wall had probably triggered it. Many panicking voices rose as more people became aware of the trio's presence.

"Uh oh!" Lena panicked, covering her ears. Rex heard the sounds of many footsteps coming towards them. "Almos!" He commanded the now-Zoroark Pokemon. "Use Flamethrower!" Almos grinned and breathed a wall of fire as a barricade from the many guards that were gaining on them. "Come on!" Rex grabbed Lena's wrist harshly and pulled her down the hole that Almos had blast. The three raced down the hallway. It was clear that Lena wasn't used to running, as she began to pant soon into their sprint.

Rex rounded a corner, his heels skidding as a wall of grunts blocked his path. "Not that way!" He turned sharply and ran in a different direction, dragging Lena and Almos bringing up the rear. "Eep!" Lena screamed as a Watchog bit onto her leg. She kicked it off, slamming it against a wall with a crunch, and kept running. Her calf began to bleed, but she was too scared to notice and didn't even slow down.

A thunder of footsteps indicated that they were being chased, and Rex began to panic. Smoke began to fill the air as Almos' flamethrower spread to different parts of the building. A tremor shook the floor as it began to crumble under them due to the flames. They needed to get out of the building soon, before it collapsed with them in it!

"Hurry up!" Rex commanded, panic creeping into his voice. They had been in sticky situations before; just none with an innocent life at stake. Rex could see that it was taking a toll on Lena as well. The battle fire in her eyes had been replaced by panic and fear. He knew he should have made her stay at the Pokemon Center! Rex rounded into a staircase and jogged down the steps, hoping to loose the grunts. They reached a lower floor and began to run again as their pursuers followed them down the stairs. A flaming chunk of the ceiling crashed down narrowly avoiding the redheaded girl's head, who let out a little scream. Lena's scream attracted many guards to the thirty-something parade that was following them. Rex rounded a corner to stop at a dead end with only a window high above the ground.

"Oh Arceus oh Arceus oh Arceus!" Lena panicked, pressing her back up against the wall in fright. The Team Plasma grunts quickly followed them, cornering the trio in the dead end. Lena gulped as they began to advance and Almos prepared a glanced out of the window, seeing many fleeing bird Pokemon flying into the sky. A crazy idea began to form in Rex's head.

"You'd best give yourselves up now," A very pissed off Rood said, the lump on his head red and swelling. "The king will be very displeased with this."

Rex shook his head, grinning defiantly, "Not on your life." Lena shot him a worried look, but Rex held onto her wrist firmly, and nodded to Almos, his eyes flicking towards the direction of the window. Almos nodded slowly, as Rex brought out his styler from his back pocket, careful not to catch any attention.

"Well, then," Rood continued, striding up to them slowly, "I guess we're going to have to take you by force!" He pointed at Rex as the wave of guards advanced. Rex wrapped his arms around Lena's waist and fell backwards out the window, breaking the glass with a 'SMASH'!

Lena screamed and covered her eyes as she was being pulled down. Rex drew loops around a nearby Tranquil quickly as they fell, praying that the capture would be over before they hit the ground. The Tranquil was quickly captured, luckily, and swooped down to catch the two on it's back just before they hit the ground. A small Pidove, which was wearing a top-hat, flew beside them, winking. Rex grinned, letting out a "WOOOOHOOO!" of relief and excitement. Lena took her hands away from her eyes, her smile growing wider as she screamed in excitement.

Rood rushed to the broken window, looking out at the retreating shapes and cursing under his breath. The other guards rushed beside Rood, making sure the sage was unharmed. "I'm fine you imbeciles!" He roared, waving away the guards. "I want you to find me those traitors and make sure they pay, at all costs!" The guards nodded worriedly, rushing in different directions. Rood sighed. He knew it was too late to find them. They had already disappeared off the horizon. A chunk of flaming ceiling crashed down behind Rood, and he realized the building was still collapsing.

"Get out! Get out!" He roared, panic in his voice, "The building is burning! GET OUT!" Rood and most of the grunts rushed out of the burning building, right before it collapsed into a pile of burning rubble. Rood clenched his teeth, as his beautiful headquarters smoldered before them. _They would pay..._

* * *

"That was so cool!" Lena jumped up and down, beaming. The trio was now back on the ground, about a mile away from the building. They were on top of a roof, watching the spectacle of the burning building. She was nothing like the scared, panicking girl a few minutes ago, and was beaming at their success. "Look! It's collapsing." She pointed at the dancing flames, memorized.

"Yes, it is," Rex chuckled, "Great work Almos."

Almos grinned, tipping his top hat. "It w-was nothing," He said with fake modesty. The trio enjoyed their success, before something red and sticky forming a puddle caught Almos' eye. "L-lena!" He barked, "Your leg-g!"

Lena looked down to see two gash marks on her left calf that were bleeding. "Owch!" She exclaimed. "How did that happen?!" Rex shook his head, amused at the girl's antics, and ripped a part of his pants off to use as a bandage. Almos began to wrap the strip of cloth around her wound, biting his lip in worry. "Come on, let's get you back to the Pokemon Center. They probably have disinfectant." Lena nodded, as the two partners acted as crutches and guided her off the roof.

Below the building, a young boy was watching the dancing flames. He let out a low whistle in admiration, before retreating back into the darkness as the trio clambered down from the roof. Lena, Almos, and Rex began to make their way back to the Pokemon center, and the boy deemed it safe to reveal himself again. He stepped back out of the shadows and grinned. "I think we should watch out for these three..."

* * *

*Pants* Another chapter done! YAY! With a Heartgold/Soulsilver reference!

So, did you like the battle scene? It was the first battle scene I've ever written, so I'll need you critiquing! And the mysterious boy at the end! Who could it be? I guess you'll have to find out later.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this!

~Miss Optimism.


	4. Onto Route Two!

Chapter Four is complete! And now, we can celebrate for having one hundred and one views! WOOHOO!

Oh my Arceus... The writer of my favorite Fanfiction of all time has reviewed my story... AND said it was interesting... *Faints from happiness*

Aaaaand I'm back! But seriously, seven reviews?! That's awesome! *Snoopy happy dance!* You guys are so cool! And Sushi4427, I read your profile page and AGAIN fainted from happiness! And thanks LaZeRsTaR, for being my first reviewer! I'm in a really good mood, if you couldn't tell!

Thanks you guys, you're all awesome. And thanks to the people who took the time to read it, even if they didn't write a review. And thanks to YOU for clicking on this link!

Now... Let's get to the chapter already!

**DISCLAIMER:** I DON'T OWN POKEMON! OR ELSE ARCHEN WOULD HAVE A USEFUL ABILITY INSTEAD OF DEFEATIST!

* * *

It was all over the news.

"Plasma League Building burned down! Rebellion to blame?"

"A Revolt in Progress? Plasma League Building attacked and burned!"

"New crime gang burns Plasma League? Witness calling it 'Team Flame.'"

"Plasma League Building attacked! Twenty three casualties."

Their small escapade had made the headlines all over Unova, and some parts of Sinnoh too! It had made Rex excited about his mission, instead of being worried about all the attention he was gaining. It was pretty cool to see his (thankfully blurry) picture posted everywhere. In Almia, most of the people were so used to being saved that they'd never make such big a commotion as this. They'd usually just talk about it for an hour, then get on with their lives.

Almos was extremely worried, though. He was freaking out when the first news report came on in the morning. Rex had never seen his partner so stressed before. He'd literally had a panic attack when he saw their pictures in the newspaper. Lena, on the other hand, was loving the attention.

"Look at me! I look so badass." She exclaimed, pointed at her picture in the newspaper excitedly. It was true, Lena's blurry figure was kicking away a Sandile in an action pose, making her look _very_ badass. The three were currently sitting on a park bench, scoping out the aftermath and seeing if it was OK to leave Accumula Town, or at least take off the trench coats, fedoras, and sunglasses that Almos had insisted they wear. People everywhere were talking about their stunt, so it didn't look like they'd loose the disguise anytime soon.

"Not s-so loud!" Almos hissed, covering Lena's mouth and glaring at her. "You don't want to blow our c-cover, do you?"

Lena pouted, pushing Almos' hand off her mouth. She just couldn't stop gushing about how she had made front page, and even in public she couldn't hold her tongue. "Sorry..." She murmured, looking ashamed. Luckily, no one had payed attention to her. "But Team Flame sounds so cool! I think it should be our official name, you know?"

"What do you mean, official name?" Rex asked, looking at her from over his glasses, just like he'd seen spies do in the movies.

Lena giggled at Rex, tilting her sunglasses down as well and making her voice sound deep and serious. (Well, as serious as she could be) "Every traveling gang of heroes has a name, it's in all the movies. We should be the Team Flame!" Lena bounced in her seat happily. Almos face-palmed, then turned to face Rex expectantly.

"I like it!" Rex exclaimed. It did sound pretty cool to him. "But what's really ironic is that they're calling _us_ the crime gang while we're saving _them_ from the crime gang." Lena giggled, nodding. After Team Plasma had taken over Unova, their official name had been changed to the 'Plasma League', but really only the press referred to them as that. Most people would just stick with Team Plasma.

"Well, if we are Team F-flame, then aren't we supposed to be a _traveling _group of heroes? We should be on the road by n-now," Almos said sarcastically. It was apparent that he didn't want to be near any more crowds for a long time, at least until the whole 'Team Flame' thing blows over. It was really annoying Almos that both his partner and Lena were taking it so easily. If people found out who they were, they'd be sent back home ASAP!

"Fine fine, hold your ponyta's!" Rex grumbled, making fun of his partner. Almos rolled his eyes, while Lena jumped up and smiled. "Then let's go!"

* * *

Almos visibly relaxed after they were away from any crowds and onto Route Two. He took off his glasses and fedora, tucking them in his pocket, and folding up his trench coat and placing it in his new backpack neatly. The trio had stopped for supplies such as backpacks and water bottles on the way out. Rex shed his disguise as well. Lena ripped her disguise off and shoved it into her backpack forcefully. Rex saw Almos flinch at her untidy behavior, and let out a little sigh. Rex always teased Almos that he was part Minninco.

"So, when are we going to take out the next building?" Lena asked, looking up at Rex with eager eyes. The two gaped at her. They were both exhausted, wounded, and should probably lay low for a few days so they don't attract too much attention. Lena had _clearly_ never taken over a government before.

"I don't know," Rex said, exasperated. He looked the girl over. Her head and leg were still bandaged, she was as scrawny as a Bellsprout, and, after seeing her fight, she could be taken out by a Magikarp. He laughed to himself, which came out sort of like a giggle, "You're still in pretty bad shape. We're probably not going to take over any buildings anytime soon."

Lena pouted, and both the boys were glad for the five-seconds of quietness while they were walking down Route Two.

"Then train me!" Lena exclaimed, her head snapping up.

"Wait, what?" The two boys said at the exact same time, stopping in their tracks.

"Yeah! Since we're not doing anything, I might as well get better," She said, beaming like an idiot, "I wanna learn how to fight 'n stuff! And not just karate chop-punch ninja kick, I wanna learn how to be a trainer too."

_How can she get better, when she doesn't even know how to fight?!_ Rex thought. Almos mouthed something that looked like 'NO!' over Lena's shoulder. Teaching the hyperactive fourteen-year-old probably wasn't the smartest idea, or at least in Almos' book. Rex, on the other hand, thought it might be a good idea to have an ally who could fight. He thought about it for a moment. "I dunno..." He said, sizing her up.

She gave him her signature 'Growlithe eyes', "Oh pleasepleasepleasepleaseple-"

"Fine, fine, fine! I'll train you to beat up the bad guys." Almos looked horrified, and glared at the redheaded boy. Rex looked at Almos apologetically, mouthing, "_Not really!"_ when Lena wasn't looking.

"Yes! I'll do whatever you say, Master Rex!" Lena beamed at him, not realizing that Rex was just trying to get her to shut up.

"Uhhh... ok? Just lay off the 'Master Rex' stuff. It's kind of weird." Rex said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ok, Master!"

Rex sighed, and the walk elapsed into silence. Route Two was very peaceful, the Pidoves chirping and Patrats scurrying around. Almos was enjoying it, Rex thought it was kind of nice, but their client didn't appreciate the silence.

"So... _when_ are you going to train me?"

Rex threw up his hands in exasperation. This girl could be more annoying then a Zubat. "Later!"

* * *

_Somewhere in the region of Unova..._

"Rood, let me get this straight." Rood gulped, and nodded his head. He was standing in a dimly-lit room with the back of a revolving chair facing him. A green-haired man was sitting in the chair, gazing out of the only window in the room.

"Three children broke into the Plasma League's headquarters in Accumula town, defeated all of the Plasma guards, and then promptly burned the building into the ground?" The man drummed his fingers on the chair.

Rood gulped, and nodded again, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. It sounded absurd to the man in the chair.

"How, may I ask, is that possible?"

Rood cleared his throat, "They- well, caught us by surprise, and... um-"

"Enough." Rood stopped his stuttering immediately, bowing his head. "Now, I want every grunt to be on the lookout for these children. Give the order promptly, and I _don't_ want to see you again today."

Rood nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, "Yes, Lord Ghetsis." He began to walk out of the room, before the man in the chair stopped him.

"Rood, on your way out, send N to me." The man turned his chair around, facing the sage with a glare.

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis." Rood quickly rushed out of the room, leaving Ghetsis to his thoughts. Ghetsis had a right to be called 'Lord'. Everyone was under his command, and a Lord has complete control. N wasn't the real king, though he may have the title. Ghetsis controlled the boy's every move, placing false ideals in his mind. Manipulating the other six sages was easy as well. They all feared him, and Ghetsis gladly used the fear to act as a 'puppet master' so to speak. They would do whatever he wanted, with almost no questions asked. He also controlled the public fairly easily as well. His speeches kept them a happy, mindless people that worshiped the 'Plasma League'.

Ghetsis had thought it would be a challenge, and he prepared for that well. He absentmindedly fingered the Pokeball that held his carnivorous Hydreigon. His most prized possession could murder brutally almost every trainer, ranger, or anyone else who would stand in his way. And Ghetsis wasn't afraid to do it.

"You called?" Ghetsis looked up to see a mass of green hair much like his. The pure green eyes, though, were so unlike his dark red ones. Ghetsis sighed, and turned his chair to face the boy better.

"Yes, N, I called to ask you about Unova," Ghetsis said, no emotion in his voice.

"What about Unova?" N said, his voice equally dull. The boy never showed emotion around Ghetsis, and Ghetsis frankly liked it better that way. Ghetsis never displayed any emotion to N, in hopes to make him a perfect 'puppet' so to speak. N had never displayed emotion to Ghetsis for as long as the man could remember, and took Ghetsis' 'suggestions' perfectly.

"Oh, just how the masses are fairing. How they are coping with our rule, and such."

"They are all fine, and accepting it with open arms. They have finally seen the truth in our ideal world." Ghetsis nodded. He frankly couldn't care less about the liberating Pokemon and such. Pokemon were tools of power. It was an absurd idea to think they had emotions.

"Good, good. And, how is the public fairing with the attack on one of our buildings?"

"They are taking it as an offense to our new reign."

Ghetsis nodded again, "And, no rebellions or uprisings?"

"No."

Ghetsis smiled, pleased with the boy's answer. He turned his chair away, and was about to demand that he be left in peace, when N interrupted.

"Except-"

"Except what?" Ghetsis demanded, turning his chair back sharply. There could be no 'except' in his reign, it must all be perfect. The smallest slip up could lead to their downfall, and Ghetsis was not going to let that happen.

"There were these three people... the day I was in Accumula Town." Ghetsis motioned for the boy to go on impatiently. "They didn't seem content with our rule."

"And _how_ exactly is that relevant?" Ghetsis asked, slightly ticked at the boy getting him all wary for nothing, but another one of the King's silly cautions. He turned his chair to face the window again, taking a deep breath.

"It isn't. I just thought-" Ghetsis interrupted him with a flick of his wrist, signaling that he was done with the boy. N bowed his head, backing out of the room.

The boy was no different from Pokemon, just a tool to be used. N was just a chess piece in his plan, along with the other six sages and the rest of the grunts. He would have complete power, a world that was his and only his. Some could say that Ghetsis was a sadistic power-hungry maniac, and he would agree with no regrets. The dawn of Ghetsis' rule was drawing near, he'd just need a little more power to 'convince' the other regions. And then, the world would be his.

* * *

_Somewhere in the region of Almia..._

"So, let me get this straight," The Boss started, grinning like a maniac. The other ranger in the room, Devin, was a close friend of Rex and had known him since the two had gone to Ranger School together. Devin nodded, grinning also in a maniac-esque way. "Rex and Almos have already taken down one of the Team Plasma Headquarters, without getting caught?!"

"And it's was only their second day there!" Devin added, his spiky brown hair bobbing up and down as he nodded in excitement. The Boss gave a little whistle of appreciation. He knew there was nothing to worry, that kid was a natural!

"I told him he could do it," The Boss said proudly. Devin just kept grinning and nodding. The news report had reached the Ranger's base early that morning. The whole base had erupted into cheers at the sight of their friend's victory. Devin had personally thought that burning the place to the ground was a nice touch.

"Go get us some root beers, Devin, let's celebrate." Devin looked slightly shocked at the Boss' request, but grinned and nodded. Devin walked out of the room, slightly mystified on how The Boss was so ecstatic. He'd never celebrate a successful mission. _This must have been a lot to him_, Devin mused. _Oh well, brownie points with the boss!_

The Boss drummed his fingers on the desk, a small smile still plastered on his face. Rex was his only hope for saving Unova, and was so far proving himself to be useful. The Boss was never so relieved in his life. Unova had been waging war with Sinnoh for a month now, and Sinnoh had asked the rangers to stop it at all cost. The Boss had recently taken the position, and was extremely anxious despite his stone-faced exterior.

"Boss?" A cool voice wrenched The Boss from his daydreams. Standing in the doorway, he saw a tall girl with long brown hair braided into a ponytail. She was wearing the Ranger's uniform, but it looked scorched and extremely travel-worn.

"Ah, Maddie, I see your mission in Johto was a success." The girl nodded, her features pursed into a tight line. "Come in, what do you need?" The boss said, smiling. The brunette, Maddie, strode up to him and smartly slapped The Boss across his face.

The boss didn't flinch, he simply raised his eyebrow's at the girl's bold actions. She gave him a murderous look, about to live up to her nickname, 'Firebreathing Maddie'

"How could you do this?! Unova is as good as a_ war zone!_ If he's found out, he's as good as dead. How could you send one of your top rangers to-"

"Maddie!" He sharply interrupted, stopping her in mid-rant, "He'll be fine." She looked about to start another rant, so he repeated his statement. "_He will be fine."_

"How do you know that, huh?" Maddie challenged.

"Because he's Rex Kenzington." Maddie rolled her eyes at The Boss. It was then that The Boss noticed that there were tears glistening in her eyes. He stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder awkwardly. The Boss was never good at the 'comforting' stuff. "Listen, Maddie, who else do you know that could stop a volcano from erupting? Who else do you know that could take down the Rare Candy drug lords in Sinnoh? Who else-"

"Ok, ok, I get it! Only Rex could do those things." Maddie said, a small smile on her face. She and Rex had been friends, along with Devin, since Ranger School. They were all Top Rangers together, and still were the best of friends. She really cared about him; maybe a bit more then she let on. She just prayed that he would come back safely.

"Hey," Maddie said, turning towards The Boss, "Thanks for cheering me up." The Boss smiled, relieved that he had actually cheered the girl up. "Now, I saw Devin getting some root beer, any chance that I could be a part of this celebration too?"

The Boss smiled, "Sure Maddie."

At that moment, Devin came bursting through the doors with a cooler full of root beer. "Hey guys!" He said, grinning, "I brought some of my root beer."

Maddie raised her eyebrows at the size of the container. "Um... why do you have all that root beer?" She asked, concerned about her friend's drinking habits.

"Oh... Well, I'm too young to have regular beer, so I settle for this!" Devin grinned mischievously, waving the cooler in front of Maddie's face. No wonder he was so hyper all the time. Maddie socked him in the arm, a little harder then she meant too.

"Hey! Watch it, Firebreather," Devin warned playfully.

"Oh shut it, Devin." Maddie retorted, grabbing a can from the cooler and tossing two more to The Boss and Devin. The Boss nimbly snatched the can from out of the air, while Devin lunged for it, colliding with The Boss' desk on the way. Maddie laughed hysterically at the face Devin had made. Devin looked up at her angrily, before bursting into laughter as well.

The Boss smiled at them both, letting out a small chuckle at the Ranger's behavior. He normally wasn't one to participate in the personal affairs of Rangers, such as inviting them to have root beer in his office. As the Boss politely sipped his bubbly drink, before recoiling at the taste, he wondered what about him made him want to celebrate. He had never felt the necessity in an activity such as this. He came to the conclusion that since he was so relieved about Rex's success, he needed to share it with the boy's closest friends.

As the two friends laughed, and The Boss smiled at them, life felt good. Maddie felt confident that Rex was coming home, and Devin just was happy that he could get root beer with Maddie. None of them could predict what would become of their hero in the months to come.

* * *

And so... it ends with a cliffhanger(ish)! Not really, but it does leave you guys wondering, right? Well, I shall never tell, mwahahah!

Sorry that this chapter was kind of short, and took a long time to upload. I had testing week, and had almost no time to write, sorry! Sorry this chapter was kind of boring, but hey, I introduced two more characters. The next chapter will have more action, and be uploaded faster!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Bye for now!

~Miss Optimism


	5. Striaton Sick Day!

Yes! I've reached Chapter Five! Five is my lucky number. Why? Because five's a cool number. We're almost into double-digit reviews, so this is pretty exciting. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're all awesome!

Ok, here's the lucky chapter, let's hope it's good!

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN POKEMON. DON'T MAKE ME THINK UP A 'OR ELSE' BECAUSE I SUCK AT THOSE.

* * *

Rex had told Lena not to eat those berries.

They were Rawst berries, very very bitter and_ strictly_ for Pokemon, not people. The redheaded girl been complaining that she was so hungry because they wanted to keep traveling and didn't stop for lunch. So, Lena went and got the genius idea to eat a few strange blue berries, even against Almos' and his warnings.

So no one could say it was his fault when she began clutching her stomach and complaining. She had refused to move a budge as her stomach hurt too much, which put a dent in the whole '_traveling_ gang of heroes' concept. Rex and Almos had decided to wait for her to feel better or for her to just suck it up, but when Lena began to complain that she was about to hurl and turned a sickly shade of green, they decided to get someone professional to take a look at her.

Luckily, Striaton City was close ahead, and the two partners only had to drag a screaming girl a short while before they dumped her on a park bench and searched for a Pokemon Center. The local Nurse Joy could probably lend a hand, and probably a (free!) room too. Lena was being overly dramatic, as usual, and making the situation much worse than it was by screaming, "The paaaaaaiiiiinnnnnn! Ughgghghggggggg..." and attracting many unwanted passerby's as she sat on the park bench.

"Hello, Nurse Joy? We'd like a room please." Rex requested, slamming his hand on the counter to get the nurse's attention.

A frazzled Nurse Joy turned to face the duo, her mouth in a pursed line, "I'm sorry," She said, not looking exactly sorry as she shuffled some paperwork, "None of our rooms are ready at the moment. If you'll just wait a few hours, one will be ready then." She gave a forced smile, and then assuming the conversation was over, turned back to her paperwork.

Almos looked exasperated, glancing out the window to see Lena clutching her stomach and turning an unhealthy color. He stomped his foot hard, causing the nurse to turn back and glare at the two. "D-do you see the screaming girl out there through the window?" Almos pointed at Lena. The nurse's eyes widened as she assessed the situation. As busy as Nurse Joy was, this girl looked to be in pretty bad condition.

"Does s-s-she look like she could wait a few hours?!"

And that was how the duo dragged Lena up to the Poke Center's finest room, kicking out the lady who was cleaning there, and dumped her on the couch. Almos was playing doctor, getting his 'patient' water and such. Rex just sat and watched TV, flipping through the channels lazily. Rex couldn't remember a time when he could just sit and relax, so he took advantage of this opportunity and left Almos to take care of their client.

A low moaning sound came from the couch. "G-go on... without me..." Lena gasped, her eyelids fluttering shut and heaving a sigh. It seemed like she was improving, but neither boy could tell with her constant complaining. Rex rolled his eyes at her dramatic behavior, while Almos bit his lip and tucked her under a pile of blankets. A slight snoring sound indicated that the drowsy kid's medicine had worked. Lena had refused to take any of the regular stuff, because it 'tasted bad' in her opinion. The nurse had said she just needed a day rest to feel better, which set their travel plans back a whole day. Almos breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't need to take care of the girl anymore, and joined Rex on the couch.

"A-anything interesting on?" Almos asked.

"Just some Pokemon Liberation crap. They replaced all the good stations with advertisements and speeches being played over and over," Rex sighed, flipping through the channels. He eventually got fed up, and turned it off with a huff, "This is all just promotional crap! Ugh." He frowned.

Almos bit his lip, frowning. "W-well, since the redheaded terror is asleep, do you think we should go take a l-look around? Maybe g-get some hair dye or disguises?"

Rex shrugged, "Sure, I could use the fresh air!" The room didn't exactly smell the freshest even though it was just cleaned. The sickly 'Juicy cherry' smell was thanks to the ton of medicine they had made Lena drink.

Almos laughed. "L-lets go."

* * *

"Well, we're here in Striaton City!" Rex said, smiling as he looked around. His arms were full of bags of hair dye and extra changes of clothes. The lady at the counter of the hair salon was kind of surprised, but gave him what he wanted anyways. The duo had just finished their shopping trip, and were on their way back to the Pokemon Center.

"We're one step closer to that prize money! I can almost taste it..." Rex licked his lips, grinning.

"Don't be greedy," Almos chided, but he also was envisioning the award money, and all that he could do with it. For now, they'd have to live of their meager Ranger's salary, which brought Rex to ask a question.

"How much money do we have now?" He asked. Almos shrugged, pulling out his wallet. Rex was never able to handle money well, and was probably the worst impulse-buyer Almos knew. So the Zoroark got stuck with the money problems.

"Forty PokeDollars?!" The both exclaimed in unison. That could buy them a cheap dinner for three. Period. And 'cheap dinner' means a hot dog from a few of the hot dog vendors lining the paved streets. A Castellacone cost more then this!

"We had a lot more then this! What happened to it all?" Rex asked angrily. His mind immediately jumped to pickpockets. The streets of Striaton were crowded, and he'd bumped into many people on his way back. He was about to chase down whoever stole his money, and give them a beating they'd never forget. The Ranger's Union had given them a pretty large start-up fund that was supposed to last them the entire trip, but they'd probably had just lost it all.

"Remember these high-quality backpacks that y-you _had _to buy? Yeah, that kind of did it in," Almos smirked, pointing at the bag that slung across Rex's shoulder. It was equipped with many cool features, like a parachute, so Rex _had_ to buy it. "Oh, and all of the hair dye, d-disguises, changes of clothes, and toothbrushes."

Rex frowned. He had no idea on how they were supposed to survive in Unova with little to no money. Stealing was out of the question, and it didn't seem like anyone was going to pay him for destroying Team Plasma headquarters. As Rex contemplated his money problems, a loud alarm began to sound.

The two boys jumped, frantically looking around, before Rex realized that it was his phone's ring tone. He gave a sheepish grin to Almos, who was looking really ticked off, and tried to remember who'd he set the alarm ring tone for. He took out his phone, and his eyes widened when he realized who was calling.

"Uh... Hi Mom?" He said, bracing himself for the tongue lashing of his life.

"Hi Rex!" She sounded happy. Wait, what?

"Wait, you're not mad that I'm in Unova and I didn't tell you?" He said, slowly relaxing. His mother was the queen of insults, scoldings, and knew how to bring a grown man to his knees begging for forgiveness with just her words.

"No, sweetie!" Rex fully relaxed. "I'm just here to request that you and Almos visit me while you're staying!" And he tensed up again. Rex didn't hate his mother. She was a very sweet lady, it was just that he felt awkward around her. Like she was silently judging his every move, and Rex hated that. Everyone else thought he was being paranoid, but Rex just felt uncomfortable around her, even though she was his mother!

"Uh, Mom... the thing is-" Rex began, trying to get out of her plan.

"Oh, I heard _all_ about you taking down that Team Plasma headquarters! Though, the burning of the building was a bit overdone, and if _I_ would have done it I would have just forced everyone out of the building before barricading it." And there she was again, silently judging him. He'd heard of parents judging their future in-laws, but never parents silently judging their own kids.

"Is Almos there? I'd like to talk to him," She said in that peppy voice of hers. Rex humphed. She didn't even want to talk to him! He shoved the phone in Almos' face, frowning.

"Oh hi, Mrs. Kenzington!" Almos said, smiling as he talked to Rex's mom. Rex had also thought that his mom preferred Almos over him. The idea sounded crazy, but she always seemed to be nicer and less-critical to Almos. It was always, 'Good job, Almos!' or 'You can do it, Almos!' Even when he'd first gotten Almos' egg, his mother had praised how smooth and colorful the egg was.

Rex sat down on a park bench, as the two chatted. He put down the bags and his new backpack with a huff, biting his lip in frustration. He really didn't want to visit his mom. Rex didn't hate her, he just didn't like the way she criticized him constantly. Then again, she lived all the way in Nimbasa City, and they were only in Striaton!

Rex suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck prick up, and an uneasy feeling stirred in his stomach. Something was wrong here. Rex glanced around, and bright red eyes met his. The eyes quickly turned away, but he'd seen who'd they'd belong too. A man wearing a waiter's uniform and spiky red hair. That man had been watching him.

Rex quickly turned away, biting his lip. Something seemed... off about this guy. He didn't just happen to be looking at Rex, he was staring at him in a strange way... almost like he knew something. Immediately Rex was in ranger mode, all observation. His eyes darted around the square, looking for anyone else who was suspicious. Two other boys caught his eye. One had blue hair, while the other had green. They were both wearing those waiter outfits and had been glancing at him a moment before.

Rex stood up from the park bench, ignoring the bags, and glancing over at his partner. Almos was still talking on the phone. The redhead waiter was staring intently at him, and Rex decided to investigate. He didn't take two steps, though, when a hand grabbed his arm and harshly pulled him into a large crowd.

He expected to see Almos, but instead saw a scientist lady pulling him through the masses of people. He was about to yell for Almos and snap this lady's neck, when the lady quickly put a finger to her lips and whispered, "I'm on your side!"

"And how am I supposed to believe that?!" Rex retorted, pulling out of her iron grip. He took a defensive position, hands on guard and waited for the lady to make the next move.

The lady sighed, "I'm Fennel, and I probably just saved you from blowing your mission!" She said angrily, brushing a stray lock of dark purple hair away from her face, "Come to my place, we can talk there."

Rex had heard the name Fennel before. He let his stance down as he studied her. "Oh! You're Professor Fennel, the lady who studies dreams," He said, trying to remember all the details in his file about Unova's famous people. Apparently, Fennel worked alongside Professor Juniper, and was against Pokemon Liberation. Rex concluded that he could trust this lady. If it turned out he couldn't, he could probably get himself out of trouble if need be.

Fennel nodded, relieved that she'd been recognized, "Now, we need to talk! My place is just over here." Rex nodded, and followed the lady as she disappeared into the crowd. He glanced back at the three waiters, but he couldn't find them anymore. He shrugged, and ran after the lady.

* * *

Professor Fennel lived in a rather ratty apartment on the second floor. Her room was very messy, paperwork strewn all over the place and pens, pencils, and calculators in the strangest places. The room was covered in vivid pink wallpaper that hurt Rex's eyes to look at for too long. Though, the strangest thing in the room was a bed. The bed was attached to many wires and something that Rex recognized as a Unovian PC system. The bed, along with all of the contraptions, looked like it had been destroyed brutally.

A young girl sat on a cushion, studying Rex and Fennel as they walked in. "Fennel! You're back," She said, jumping up to greet her, "Who's this?" She tilted her head to get a better look at the redhead.

"This is Rex," Fennel said, pushing Rex forward to greet the girl. Rex gave a small wave and smiled awkwardly.

"_The_ Rex?!" The girl said, her eyes widening. Fennel nodded, and the girl broke into a smile. "That's so cool! I'm Amanita, Fennel's little sister." She grabbed Rex's hand and shook it hard, "I created the Unovian Pokemon Storage System!"

Rex pulled his hand away, "That's... nice?" Amanita beamed at him, slightly bouncing from all the excitement.

"Amanita's a big fan," Fennel explained, sitting down on one of the cushions, "She thought that it was absolutely amazing that you took down that Team Plasma headquarters!"

Rex's eyes widened, "You knew it was me?!" He asked.

"Well, Professor Juniper was informed of your mission before you got here, and I'm close friends with her so I also knew of your coming. So when the Team Plasma headquarters was attacked, I just assumed it was you," Fennel said.

Amanita added, "And it was awesome too!" She beamed up at Rex, who sweatdropped. Fennel motioned for the ranger to sit. He reluctantly sat on one of the fluffy cushions beside her.

"So, let me explain why I called you here," Fennel started, "Well, there are a few things you should know now. Unova's changes a whole lot since you've been here, and if you don't want your cover blown, I suggest you pay attention."

Rex nodded, and Fennel continued, "The general public should never be trusted. They all have been won over by Team Plasma's promises, and will no doubt turn you in and organize an angry mob if you're found out by one of them. The second thing is about the gym leaders. Most people with powerful Pokemon, or who were conducting research like Professor Juniper and I, are put under close watch by Team Plasma authorities. You can see what they did to my research." She motioned to the broken machine, before continuing, "Luckily, I got off easy because my research has to do more with dreams then Pokemon. They've stopped surveilling me. Professor Juniper and her colleagues are not so lucky."

Rex remembered why Lena had to travel all the way to Mistralton to deliver the package, because Cedric Juniper was under surveillance and couldn't come get it himself.

"And I'm digressing again," Fennel sighed, "Anyways, anyone with powerful Pokemon, such as the gym leaders, were immediately put under watch. Most of the gym leaders either went into hiding or reverted back to their normal jobs. Some of the gym leaders though, joined Team Plasma."

Rex's eyes widened. "So the-"

Fennel nodded, "Yes, the Striaton leaders are part of Team Plasma," She sighed, then added quickly "But they probably had no choice! The Striaton triplets are good kids, but they'll turn you over if need be."

Rex frowned. He'd knew he had recognized those boys before! They were the gym leaders in this city. "Do you know any other gym leaders that have joined Team Plasma?" Rex asked. If they were traveling, meeting a hostile gym leader should be avoided at all costs.

"No," Fennel sighed, "I'm not allowed to leave the city grounds, so I don't know what's happening with other cities. They probably think that I'm going to try and come in contact with Professor Juniper or someone else." She stared intently at him, "Rex, don't trust anyone who might be suspicious, because... you never know who'll turn on you. Just a word of caution."

She shook her head, sadly, "I hope I helped you in some way..."

Rex grinned, "You defiantly helped me a whole lot! I would have probably blown my mission if it weren't for you. Thanks," He said, standing back up. "I should probably get going. Almos would be worried right about now."

Fennel stood up as well, "I'm happy to help. Team Plasma took away my Pokemon, my research, and that's basically what I was living for. Now, I want to see Unova restored to the happy region it was, and to help the other people see the truth."

Rex's smile grew wider. One of the perks of being a hero was getting heartfelt comments like this. "Don't worry, I've got in under control!" He gave a heroic smirk, or his best attempt at a heroic smirk, and Fennel sweat dropped. "Don't overdo it," She mumbled, shaking her head at the boy's lack of modesty.

He felt a tiny pair of arms wrap around him, and he saw Amanita's blue eyes staring up at him. "Thank you, Ranger Rex!" She said, beaming up at him. Rex felt all warm and fuzzy inside, as he awkwardly patted the little girl on the head. She seemed overjoyed, and jumped up and down happily.

"Now, Rex," Fennel began, adjusting her glasses, "Yo-"

_Knock Knock Knock!_ Fennel was interrupted by a harsh rapping on the door. "This is the Plasma League, here to check up on you." A gruff voice commanded. Her face turned paper-white, while Rex's eyes widened to the size of bowling balls.

"Uh... I'm naked!" Fennel quickly said, thinking of the first excuse that came to mind. "Give me a minute, please." The man behind the door sighed, exasperated.

"Fine, but just a minute."

Fennel quickly turned to Rex and Amanita, talking in hushed, quick tones, "There's a back window in my bedroom, you can escape from there," She whispered her eyes darting around, "Amanita, show him where it is." The little girl nodded, grabbing Rex by the arm and dragging him towards a room in the corner. The two just barely made it into the room, closing the door quietly, before the door to Fennel's apartment slammed open, the grunt apparently tired of waiting.

Amanita pointed to a small window in the corner, motioning for him to help her get it open. The window was badly stuck, and neither Rex or the little girl were all that strong. They could hear Fennel talk with the grunt through the door.

"Your hair isn't wet," The grunt stated. Rex could hear him searching through the apartment for something, or _someone._

"W-why would it be wet?" Fennel asked nervously.

"You said you were naked so I just assumed you were taking a shower- you know what? Never mind," The grunt said, and a giant crash was heard.

"Hey! That's my table," Fennel protested. Rex could hear footsteps getting closer to the room, and he quickly strained against the window.

_Crack!_ The window gave way, but not before it emitted a loud noise. Rex winced, and Amanita motioned for him to get moving. Rex nodded, clambering out onto the window sill.

"What was that?" He heard the gruff voice of the grunt asking. Amanita panicked, and gave Rex a little push. Unfortunately it was that push that caused Rex to loose his balance and fall down. His hand snapped out on Ranger instinct, and caught a loose brick on the side of the building, stopping his fall. Amanita's worried face appeared above him, mouthing an _"Are you OK?"_

Rex nodded, giving the little girl a shaky thumbs up with his free hand, before grabbing the brick again and holding on for dear life. The girl's face disappeared back into the room, when a sound of a door slamming open sounded. Rex nearly lost his grip, but kept holding on tight.

"So, this is the only other room?" Rex heard the grunt ask.

"Y-yes," Fennel stuttered. More sounds of someone searching. Rex held his breath, hanging off the side of the building. He couldn't make a move to get in a better position, or the brick might come loose all the way and he'd fall, or the grunt would hear him. So he left hanging, literally.

Rex's heart nearly stopped when the grunt poked his face out of the window above him. _Don't look down... Don't look down... Oh sweet_ _Arceus don't let him look down... _Someone must have heard his prayers because he stuck his head back into the room.

"You're all clear," The grunt said, and he heard someone give a huge sigh of relief. He heard the door to the apartment open, and then close behind the grunt. It was only then when Rex clambered back up onto the window sill, grunting. Fennel grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"That was close," She said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Too close. Just to be safe, I'll leave by window," Rex said, preparing to climb back down. He placed his foot in a crack in the building, and grabbed onto the edges of the window sill.

"Rex!" He heard Fennel call, her face poking out of the window.

"What?" He asked.

"...Take care, Rex. Please, just stay safe." She said, smiling at him.

He smiled assuringly back at her, "I'll be fine! Don't worry. Well, the only thing I need to worry about is Almos' tongue lashing when I get back."

Fennel laughed, "Then you'd better get going." Rex nodded, and proceeded to scale back down the building.

* * *

"Almos! I'm back," Rex said, opening the door to the apartment.

Immediately, the blue-haired boy was scolding him. "Wh-where were you?! How could you just disappear like that? How could you leave me to carry all your bags back to the apartment by m-myself?! I thought you'd been captured."

Rex waved Almos away impatiently, "But I'm fine, see?" He said, "And I've got lots to tell you."

"Hey! I'm here too." Rex turned to see Lena bundled up in blankets, looking much like a Swadloon, and sitting on the couch. She didn't look sick or in pain anymore. "I've been sick the whole day, and I don't even get a decent 'Hello, Lena! I see you're better' huh?!"

Rex sighed, collapsing on the couch beside her, "Hello, Lena. I see you're better," He said sarcastically.

Lena beamed, "Thanks for noticing!"

"So, I've got a bunch to tell you," Rex said, clicking off the TV. Lena nodded, while Almos walked over to the two.

"Rex, before all that, I've got something to show y-you," Rex turned towards his partner, who was holding an envelope in his hands. "This was on the desk when I came back. It's ad-ddressed to you."

Rex took the envelope. He didn't know anyone who would send him a letter. His mother had just called him, and no one in this region knew where he was staying. He opened it gingerly. It was a short letter, but written in very neat cursive. Rex blocked the letter, so only he could see what was written. His eyes widened.

_Dear Rex Kenzington,_

_Please join us for dinner at eight o'clock tonight at the Striaton City Restaurant so we may discuss a few matters._

_Sincerely, C, C, &C._

* * *

That was my attempt at writing a dramatic end to the chapter. This was the longest chapter yet! Woohoo! So, hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter for many reasons.

Thank you for clicking on this link and taking the time to read this.

See you soon!

~Miss Optimism


	6. Demonic Monkeys

Ok, onto Chapter Six! But before that, I'd like to thank Fabled Hermit for giving me really good critiquing on this story. I'm going to try my best to make it better, with the help of your advice! _And _I'll try to add more unhappiness/death/etc.! Thank you so much for thinking this has potential, and I'll try and make it so much better. :)

Oh, and Slybill, your review made me laugh so hard! Seriously, you are hilarious.

And also special thanks to LaZeRsTaR and Sushi4427 who haven't missed a chapter to review yet, _and_ have pretty funny and supportive reviews too! All you guys are amazing, thanks so much.

Just _one_ more thing before we begin, we have a cover! I can't draw for my life, so I used spiriting techniques. I made it myself, so I hope it's not too crappy.

Thank you for clicking on this link and (presumably) reading the other chapters. And now... Onto the story!

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN POKEMON! THAT WOULD BE REALLY COOL, THOUGH!

* * *

"Wait, **what**?!"

Rex sighed, "You heard me. The Striaton Leaders are bad guys that work for Team Plasma, _and_ they want us to come have dinner with them."

Almos' mouth fell open, wide eyes. He then closed it when he realized how silly he looked, and took a second to assess the situation."We can't go. It's too d-dangerous," The blue-haired boy concluded, grabbing the note and preparing to rip it in half. As soon as Almos had heard Rex talking about how he had followed a stranger back to her house, he'd been pretty ticked off. Now he wanted to go have dinner with the _enemy_! Almos sometimes wondered what had happened to logic.

"Wait!" Lena stopped him, snatching the note away from Almos. "Maybe we should go..."

"And get captured or even k-killed?!" Almos retorted, grabbing the note and waving it high above the redheaded girl's head. She jumped for it, but was too short to reach and gave up with a small sound of annoyance.

"But we don't even know what they want yet! They could just want us over for dinner... maybe?" Lena trailed off when she realized how pathetic she sounded, "Ok, that sounded better in my head! But, what if they hunt us down when we don't show up? We'll stand a chance if they try to attack us when we go to dinner, because we'll be prepared! If they attack us while we're traveling then we're gonna get captured. Plus we get free food, and I'm _starving_!"

Almos contemplated what she had said for a minute. "You may be right-t about the attacking part-t..." He finally said, nodding his head.

Lena scoffed, snatching the note back with Almos' guard down, "Of course I am!"

The two boys sweatdropped. "You're very modest, aren't you?" Rex asked, sarcasm laced in his voice.

Lena kicked Rex lightly, sticking out her tongue like a two-year-old. Rex ignored her, "You're not coming, anyways," He said, grabbing the note away from her and putting it in his pocket carefully. "So, it shouldn't really matter to you."

This time, Lena's mouth dropped open. "Why can't I come?!" She asked angrily.

"Because you haven't had any training." Rex shrugged. He personally didn't want Lena around to mess anything and everything up. The only reason they took her to destroy the Team Plasma Headquarters was because she was blackmailing them.

"But_ this_ is good training for me!" She begged him with her 'puppy eyes'. When that proved to be of no avail, she frowned. "I bet you weren't even planning on training me anyways!" She raised her voice at the end, getting angry.

Almos decided to smooth this over, before it turned into a catastrophe. "Hey, h-h-hey guys! Relax. Lena, I'm really sorry, but you probably shouldn't c-come."

"Why not!?" Lena was almost screaming. Rex could see that she was not in a good mood, even though she had been laughing just a few minutes ago. Something they said had caused her to turn very angry. "I'm useful! I can do things too, you know."

Rex's eyes widened, shocked at how passionate she was about going on this mission, "Hey! All I'm saying is that you might get hurt, and you were sick this morning."

"I don't care if I'm hurt!" She screamed. She pulled the bandages on her head, and motioned to her injured leg as well to emphasize her point, "I don't care, I feel better, and I'm coming whether you like it or not! I'm _not_ dead weight that you can order around, and I certainly didn't come to Unova to be babied or treated like a little kid. I can stand on my own two feet!"

"Lena! We're not trying to be the bad g-guys here, but you're not ready," Almos said, in the calmest voice he could muster.

"I. Don't. Care. I'm coming, and that's final!" She stormed away, slamming her hands on the coffee table on her way by, before sitting on the couch and fuming. The two boys looked at each other. Lena was... different.

"Lena?" Rex asked, walking over to her, "You can come..." He said. Lena didn't give a spoken answer, just a nod of her head. "What was that all about, anyways?" Rex had never seen her like this. Even when she was fuming about Pokemon Liberation, she wasn't _this_ angry.

She looked up at him. Her eyes had lost all their hate and were replaced with slight shame, "I'm sorry guys. I guess I was always treated like a kid back home, and I kinda blew up at you and..." She trailed off.

Almos sat down beside her, "You wanna t-talk about it?" He asked, adjusting his top hat.

"No." Was her blunt reply. She looked ready to bite off someone's hand, and her gray eyes were filled with irritation, even though she was sorry just a few moments ago. It then occurred to Rex that Lena was extremely moody. "And don't ask me if I'm PMSing, because I'm not!" She screamed one final time, before slumping down onto the couch with an irritated 'huff'.

The two boys immediately jerked back from her. An awkward silence ensued, the only sound was Lena's heavy breathing, trying to calm herself down. The redhead then got up from the couch, taking a deep breath before plastering on a smile on her face, like nothing had ever happened, "So, I guess we'd better get ready, then!"

* * *

The restaurant was fancy, to say the very, very, least. Chandeliers with strings of gleaming pearls hung from the ceiling. Soft, velvety cloth covered the tables. And an elegant red rug with gold embroidery cleared the path to the last table, where three boys sat. And the last table was a feat in itself! Gold candleholders, silver utensils, and the _food_! The food was amazing, just to look at. There was pasta, steak, soup, and lots of other dishes too that Rex didn't know the names of, all looking _extremely_ appetizing. No wonder this was a five-star restaurant.

The trio's eyes widened as they walked inn, 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing. One of the boys at the table, the one with green hair, stood up and waved them over. Immediately, the trio all tensed up.

"You ready?" Rex hissed, nudging his partner and client. They both gave wordless nods. Lena looked like she could take on a Gyarados with her murderous stare. Rex grinned, and led the way up to the table.

"Ah, Rex Kenzington," The greenette said, pulling up a chair. The two other brothers also pulled up chairs, motioning for their guests to sit with a flourish. Rex sat warily along with Almos, while Lena greedily eyed the food as she sat.

"And you must be Almos and Miss Lena," The greenette said, and the blue-haired boy and redhead nodded. "I am Cilan, and these are my brothers, Cress and Chili." The redheaded boy waved, while the wavy-haired one took a small bow. Rex raised an eyebrow at the flashy display. The three brothers sat down as well.

It was awkwardly quiet. No one dared to make a move, until Lena raised her hand like a student. The greenette, Cilan, looked at her oddly, but then said, "Yes, Miss Lena?"

"If we're not getting anywhere, can we eat now?" Rex face-palmed at her statement, and the brothers sweatdropped as well. She still seemed pretty ticked off from this afternoon, and it was clearly showing as she tapped her feet impatiently and glared at everyone who dared to glance at her.

"No, not yet, Miss Lena," Cilan said, waving her hand down. She looked disappointed. Cilan cleared his throat, "Well, I guess that brings us to the point of the dinner."

The trio leaned in, all ears and eyes wide open. "We don't want to cause any trouble for you," Cress started.

Chili inturruped him, "But we don't want you continuing your little..." The trio finished in sync, "_Adventure."_

Lena stubbornly pouted, and was about to snap back at them when Cilan interrupted.

"You see, we're not the bad guys here. We actually didn't approve of the idea of Pokemon Liberation at first," Cilan said. It was very freaky how they just switched off who was speaking, and frankly it scared Rex how well they could wordlessly communicate.

"But, when Zekrom chose King N as the Hero, and together they defeated the other Chosen One in battle, it was certain that Pokemon Liberation was the right way to proceed in this world," Cress explained, shrugging like it was a trivial matter.

"So, we proclaimed our allegiance to Team Plasma," Cilan finished. The other two nodded in sync, "It stopped the grunts from causing trouble in our city, and frankly gave Striaton more protection. We were also allowed our Pokemon back, but on the condition that we would only ask for their help in emergencies."

"So we have every right to nicely ask you to leave this region, and don't come back, before trouble is caused from your presence here." Chili said, a hint of a threat in his voice.

Rex glanced at Almos whose eyes were as wide as the plates in front of him, and Lena just looked plain flabbergasted at their bold request. Rex cleared his throat, standing up, "We're not going back, and if that is the only reason you called us here, then we'll be going back to the Pokemon Center now."

Almos stood up, motioning for Lena to as well. She looked a bit disappointed about the lack of eating and fighting, but pushed her chair back and stood up beside the two, stubbornly sticking her chin out.

The Striation triplets got up as well. "We can't let you do that." Cilan explained, looking a bit disappointed at their answer.

"We really don't want any conflict," Cress stated, taking out a Pokeball and enlarging it. The other brothers did the same.

"But you've given us no choice," Chili finished, throwing his Pokeball with a sweep of his arm. The other two did the same, a hint of regret on their faces. Lena grinned, getting ready for a battle. She gasped, and drew back when she saw what she faced.

The traditional three elemental monkeys emerged from the red light, Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour. But, Rex noticed that there was something different about these. They all had bright, acid-yellow eyes, and sharp pointed teeth pulled into sickening grins. They also looked much stronger then the average elemental monkeys, and moved in slow, Spinark-like movements as they crawled towards the trio on all fours. Slight twitches wracked their limbs as they moved. It was clear to the trio something was wrong with them.

Rex was slightly intimidated by the monkeys, but decided not to show it. "If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you get." The brothers nodded, and Rex turned to face his partner, "Almos?"

"Already on it." The now-Zoroark said, grinning and getting into an attack position, his claws and teeth bared.

"Pay close attention." Rex nudged the redheaded girl beside him. He could tell she was freaked out by the demonic monkeys, and smiled confidently at her. She nodded, her worried face slowly being replaced by an cocky grin. "Watch how the master does it."

"Ok, Pansage! Leaf Storm."

"Pansear, Fire Blast!"

"Panpour, Hydro Pump."

Immediately, all three monkeys jumped into action, using moves much too advanced for their presumed mediocre levels, and Rex didn't even think that those Pokemon could learn those moves! The creepiest part was that their sicking, pointy-teeth grins didn't waver at all as they began to charge up waves of blue, green, and red.

"Almos, dodge, now!" Rex frantically called, hoping that these powerful moves would have to charge up before blasting his partner. Unfortunately, the monkeys executed their attacks almost too quickly for an average pokemon, and with a sickening screech, they blasted towards the Zoroark at an alarming speed. A huge blizzard of razor-sharp leaves combined with a torrent of waves and a tail of fire, so hot it was turning blue, careened towards the trio.

Rex began to run out of the way, covering his head with this arms for protection, when he looked back at his client. Lena was memorized by the powerful attacks, her gray eyes wide open. She didn't even seem aware of the threat that was rocketing towards them.

"Lena!" Rex yelled, pulling her out of the way of the blast and snapping her out of her trance. It spiraled past them, towards the panicking Zoroark.

Almos tried to leap nimbly out of the way, but the attacks caught him mid-jump and he was knocked back into the wall with a crunch. His eyes fluttered shut for a second, but they snapped open when a small chime was heard. He grinned, holding up a shell bell, and adjusted his top hat.

Lena and Rex breathed sighs of relief when Almos got back up. It seemed that the elemental monkeys were recharging from their attacks, but it didn't look like they had long to go before another possibly devastating blast.

"Lena, get back here," Rex motioned, overturning a table and using it as a shield.

She glared at him, stomping her foot and refusing to move. She frantically pointed at the monkeys, her eyes widened. "Those freaks are gonna hurt him! We've gotta get him out of here."

"Watch Almos, he knows what he's doing," Rex argued, dragging her behind the table as a chandelier that had been hit by a stray leaf flurry crashed down, broken strings of pearls making a loud crash. Lena winced, as she had been right in that spot seconds before.

"M-my t-t-t-turn now-w," Almos grinned. His translator sparked, almost broken from the blast, and his words were badly audible, but he didn't appear that injured and grinned confidently. A small, weak ball of yellow energy with red streaks began to charge up in his claws, growing bigger at a rapid pace until he could barely hold it anymore.

"That's an Focus Blast," Lena identified, "But that's not going t-"

"Watch." Rex commanded, and Lena's eyes immediately snapped back to the Zoroark. He was doing something strange to the sphere. He was twisting and stretching it, until it was oval shaped. The elemental monkeys were getting up, charging up another attacks.

"Use Leaf Storm again!"

"Fire Blast!"

"Hydro Pump!"

"Almos, fire!" The Zoroark nodded, and shot the oval at an alarming speed, grinning. The monkeys didn't even appear to react to the hurtling blast, they just simply waited for orders with those sickly grins plastered on their faces.

"Dodge it!" The trio commanded in unison, and the monkeys easily leapt out of the way.

Lena gasped, "He missed! He's in trouble, get him out-"

"_Watch!_" Rex hissed, pressing a finger to Lena's lips. She growled at him, but her eyes widened as she turned to see the yellow sphere come whizzing back, slamming into each of the elemental primates. It was then when their faces showed something else other then their freaky grins: pain.

"B-b-bingo!" Almos cheered, pumping a claw into the air. Lena jumped up from their hiding spot and cheered, but was quickly pulled back down by Rex. Rex popped his head over the table, "Now make sure they stay down!" He ordered, and his partner nodded.

"How ab-b-bout some-e fire t-to heat things up-p-p?" Almos offered, the corners of his mouth beginning to flame up. He let loose a few short blasts of a flamethrower, aimed at the Pansage the most because he knew that it would be the most effective.

"Dodge it!" The three called again in unison. The Pansear and Panpour leaped to their feet, their eerie grins back on, and dodged almost flawlessly. The Pansage wasn't so limber, as it had been hurt the most by the focus blast, and was hit by the majority of the flamethrowers.

"Leaf Blade to counter!" Out of the flames, Pansage leapt and slashed at Almos with razor-sharp leaves. Almos screeched, as the 'blade' drew blood from his shoulder, and hit the Pansage away with a Sucker Punch. He threw the monkey into his advancing brothers, causing them all to tumble over.

"Almos, Night Daze now!" Rex commanded.

Almos grinned, almost crazily, as he charged up a blast of dark energy. Shadows appeared to be attracted to the Zoroark as the sphere grew in power.

"Don't let him charge it up! Brick Break, Pansage!" Cilan commanded. The triplets didn't even look worried in the slightest, just annoyed that their opponent was still standing.

"You too, Pansear!"

"Attack, Panpour! Brick Break!" The other brothers ordered. The monkeys leaped into action, not even hindered by their wounds. As they sped closer and closer to the Zoroark, Lena panicked and pulled on Rex's shirt, urgently pointing to the Zoroark. He gave her an exasperated look that said '_Wait!' _and stuck his head over the table.

"Fire now!" Rex commanded, just as the monkeys were about to strike. Almos slammed the ball of pulsing energy into the ground, sending shadows everywhere. Immediately, time appeared to slow down as dark shapes exploded around the Zoroark, blasting the monkeys back into the wall. The shadows reached everywhere, and the walls shook and ground began to tremor. A pillar crashed to the ground, crushing the monkeys with a sickening 'crunch!' and creating a barricade between the trio and the Striaton brothers.

"You killed them!" Lena cried accusingly, jumping out from out of her hiding spot and running over to the pillar.

Almos pulled her back halfway, "T-they're n-n-not dead, L-lena." Sure enough, something was lifting the pillar up, slowly but with amazing strength. Rex could barely see three snippets of color, red, blue and green, pushing it up.

"Let's go!" Rex commanded, jumping out from behind the table and rushing over to the other two. "Hurry, before they attack again."

The two nodded, as another chandelier crashed to the ground. The ceiling and walls were wrecked from stray blasts of fire and leaves. So much for a five-star restaurant. Lena jumped up, snatching from the ground a stray string of iridescent pearls and putting them in her pocket. The two boys looked at her, unamused. She smiled sheepishly, showing she had no intention of putting them back. Another pillar crashed down, almost hitting the trio.

"Or before we're buried in this building! We need to go, before authorities come," Rex said, grabbing the two and dragging them out of the collapsing building. He vaguely heard someone call, "After them!" and ran faster.

Lena turned a corner, running back to the Pokemon Center, but was caught by Almos. "N-n-no t-t-time!" He said, dragging her down an alleyway after Rex. The screech of a siren indicated that the Striaton brothers weren't the only ones chasing them. The trio ran faster, the city landscape turning into the edges of a forest. They couldn't go far, however, as a strong fence blocked their path deeper into cover.

"In here!" Lena called, finding an opening in the fence. Rex could see that it led deeper into the woods, and into parts of an abandoned building. He nodded his approval, and the trio rushed through the gap, just as the Striaton brothers reached their hiding spot.

"Do we follow them?" Chili asked, sizing up whether he could fit through the gap or not.

"We do," Cilan answered, and the Striaton brothers followed through the gap. No one knew that the trio of heroes and their pursuers weren't the only ones in the Dream Yard. A flurry of colorful feathers and two sharp eyes peering out of the bushes indicated otherwise, and let out a caw before following the Striaton brothers deep into the Dream Yard.

* * *

If Ghetsis had a theme song, it would probably be Be Prepared from the Lion King. Don't judge me for not saying some popular song that people have to look up to remember. I like Disney, and I live under a rock, so no popular songs for you! :P

If Lena, Rex, and Almos sang a song together, it would probably be Friendship, from Anything Goes. Yes, I am also a drama nerd. Speaking of being a drama nerd, I actually am preforming in a play in a few hours. WISH ME LUCK! And I've got plenty of more character songs coming up in the next chapter, and NONE of them are popular songs, mwahahaha!

So... how'd I do? Sorry I made the Striaton Leaders all evil and stuff, but they we're cool doing it!

And the flurry of feathers and sharp eyes mentioned at the end... who could it be? You all probably have guessed by now, seeing the cover and reading the summary! And just what was up with those freaky monkeys?! I guess you'll have to read more to find out!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. So long for now!

~Miss Optimism


	7. Dreamyard Escapades

Oh gosh I am so so so sorry! It's been vacation week, and I've been away from my computer, and the whole tragedy in Boston (moment of silence please.) really messed my schedule up! I am SO sorry this is a late update, and I'll NEVER do it again. Promise.

Ohyeah, and the first part may bit a _tiny _bit confusing, so if you still don't get it, I'll explain it at the Authors Note at end of this chapter!

Anyways, thank you for clicking on this link, and let's just get on with the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, AND I PROBABLY NEVER WILL. DEAL WITH IT!

* * *

_Survive._

_Eat. Sleep. Hide. That was the world. Find shelter. Scavenge. Survive. _

_Blurs of brown. Brown stone, dirt, and sky. Green leaves, clear water. Trees for safety. Find shelter. Scavenge. Survive._

_Giant flying predators. Gray, clawed, hungry. Avoid. Small scurrying shells, red eyes. Snack. Colorful feathers, birds. Flying. Flying... Find shelter. Scavenge. Survive._

_Fiery mountain. Screams, cries, chaos. Dust, heat, burning... and then white light. Clean, clear, and new. Brilliance. Difference. White room. White walls. _

_Others. Creature, large creature. Purple hair, pale face, bright eyes, white... fur? No, skin? Robes. White, flowing, robes. Nice, feeds, smiles. Smaller one, also smiles and had bright eyes. Both nice. Both sweet. Has shelter, has food, thrives. Family. Together. Plays. Smiles. _

_Gone blurs of brown. Nice colors. Pink, purple, blue, red, yellow, everywhere. Many tall creatures, no wings. Gone gray, clawed, and hungry. Gone small scurrying shells. Others, nicer ones. Good. Kind. Nice. Safe. Family._

_Change. Tall creatures, pale faces, blue and white robes. Anger, fear, rage. Crash, burn, broken. Nice, tall one opens the door. Points to outside. Fresh air, free. Run, but look back. Family? Gone._

_Eat, sleep, drink. Find shelter, scavenge, survive. Colors, all green and gray. Family? Gone. Many sun rises. Many sun sets. Same._

_Sound. Tall creatures. Purple friend, panting. Scared. Red fur on heads. Food? Follow. Shelter? Follow. Family? Follow. Into the gray and trees._

* * *

"Keep running! They're still following us," Rex commanded, dragging both his wounded partner and still-recovering client through the trees. Both of them were having a hard time keeping up, their breaths coming in ragged pants as they tried to escape the Striaton Leaders. Almos was defiantly worse for wear. His leg had a giant gash in it, and his ear still had a sharp as a knife leaf stuck in it. His shell-bell chimed weakly, but didn't seem to make a difference. He didn't give up running, though, and tried not to be a burden.

Lena, on the other hand, was just weaker in physical strength and stamina. She had to be pulled along by both of her bodyguards, and still kept stumbling. The gash in her leg had re-opened, and her bandages were slowly becoming stained with blood. She was trying the best that she could, but she just couldn't keep up, and stumbled again. Almos stumbled as well, catching himself before he fell. Rex was the only healthy one out of the trio.

"Guys! Guys, we need to-..." Rex stopped, noticing that they both looked like they couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm- I'm coming," Lena breathed, struggling to get back up. She brushed herself off, standing on wobbly legs. "I'll be fine. I'm tough, see! Let's just keep going, before they catch us." Rex could tell she was lying, and shook his head. He had to be the leader here, and as scared as he was, he knew he needed to appear confident.

"We're making a stand here. We fight them off now, and then make a break for it." He helped the Zoroark to his feet, who weakly nodded at him.

"We'r-re g-g-gonna t-try and h-hold t-t-them off the best-t w-w-we can," Almos stated.

Lena's frowned, "But we'll never stand a chance-"

"Well, we don't have a choice!" Rex shot back, "Almos, you hold them off while I capture a Pokemon that I can battle with."

Almos nodded, facing the direction where they had come from. He got into a attack stance, charging up a weak focus blast. Lena looked at the two in disbelief. Rex could see that she was very worried, and thought they didn't stand a chance. The trio heard a growling noise coming from the bushes, and sounds of footsteps in hot pursuit. Rex shot her a confident look, and she relaxed a bit, getting a stick and wielding it like a sword. The confidence Rex had put on was really a mask. He just needed to stay strong for his partners.

But... maybe there was the tiniest bit of hope? _Maybe their pokemon will be injured! Maybe we'll just have to beat the Striaton leaders in some hand-to-hand combat! Maybe- _Rex's thoughts were interrupted by the three brothers and monkeys running out of the darkness.

When the three monkeys jumped into view, his hopes of getting a somewhat easy win shattered. It didn't even look like they had taken any damage at all from their previous battle! Rex gulped. There were no strong Pokemon in sight that he could capture, so he'd just have to fend them off himself. He glanced at Lena, and then grabbed a stick and wielded it like she was doing. She grinned at him. He glanced over at Almos, and despite his condition, the Zoroark managed to flash a smile at his partner.

"We're giving you one last chance," Cilan spoke.

"Just give up now, and leave this region," Chili stepped forward, looking at the ragged group of heroes with a hint of regret.

"No one needs to get hurt, just leave Unova alone," Cress finished.

"We're not going to give up," Rex stated, holding his ground under their slightly insane gazes. Lena nodded, clenching her fists around her 'sword' and preparing to swing. Almos let out a snarl, ready for a fight.

"So be it," Cilan frowned, turning away. They both got into their battle stances, anticipating. The Striaton leaders wasted no time.

"Pansage!"

"Panpour!"

"Pansear!"

They all called their Pokemon in unison. The elemental monkeys immediately snapped to attention, snarling viciously.

**"Attack!**"

The Pansage lept first, charging at Almos and raking it's claws over his face. Rex watched as his partner screeched in pain, before slamming the Pansage into a tree. He didn't have time to watch the fight, however, as the Panpour was headed straight to him. It's menacing yellow-eyed stare rooted him to the ground, and time seemed to slow down as it charged him. Rex didn't even think to jump out of the way; he was too occupied with those eyes.

The Pansage's scream whipped him out of his trance, and he dodged just in time. He could feel the Panpour's claws leaving large rips in the back of his shirt, but they only barely scratched him. He countered almost immediately by slamming the branch against the Panpour's head, knocking him into a rock. Rex winced at the sickening crack, but smacked it again with the tree branch. He always remembered to make sure the enemy was really dead before letting your guard down, thanks to a Garchomp mission he had to take once. Those things could play dead _really_ well.

It appeared that the water monkey was down for now. He glanced around quickly, locating Almos. Almos seemed to be winning, the Zoroark's flamethrowers doing a great deal of damage. Lena, though, was no where to be found. He bit his lip, worried about his client, but had to duck because the Panpour had gotten back up and was trying to rip his head off in a giant leap. It was sent flying through the trees, and hit with a crunch.

A lightbulb sparked in the ranger's mind, and he grinned. It appeared that once the demonic monkeys were attacking, they couldn't change their attack like regular Pokemon, because they had too much power behind their attack. It was almost like a Tauros. Once they were charging, they couldn't stop because they were going so fast! And Rex knew exactally how he could play this to his advantage.

"Here Panpourpanpourpanpour!" He called, waving his arms to try to get the water monkey's attention. It was recovering from the impact, but still turned to look sharply at him, baring it's spiked teeth and growling.

"Panpour, scratch," Rex heard Cress command, and grinned. The Panpour lept into action, it's wickedly sharp claws ready to tear the ranger's head off. Rex waited until the monkey got closer, and then dodged out of the way with lightning speed. The Panpour's expression turned from murderous to shock as it slammed into the tree.

"Yes!" Rex pumped his fist into the air, grinning. The Panpour looked like it would take a while to get back up, so Rex turned his attention to Cress.

Cress looked panicked, and started to back away. Rex grinned evilly at the Striaton leader, when a soft sound was heard behind him.

"Musha..." He saw out of the corner of his eye a floating pink blob with flower designs on it. His eyes widened, identifying the pokemon as Mushrana, drowsing Pokemon. He had learned that this Pokemon could create some messed-up illusions. This Pokemon could really turn the tide for Almos and Lena, which he knew no doubt would need it. And the best part about being a ranger, was that he didn't even need to battle it!

Cress noticed the Mushrana as well, and bit his lip, losing his calm demeanor. Rex reached for his capture styler without taking his eyes off the blue-haired brother, only to find that it wasn't clipped on his belt. He glanced down at where it should be, only to find empty space. His capture styler was gone!

"Daaaaaaaammmnnnn..." Rex groaned. He knew he had had his styler before the fight. The question was, what had happened to it!? It couldn't have fallen off, he knew that for sure. The mechanics back at the Ranger Base had made many adjustments to his belt, assuring that his capture styler wouldn't fall off even if he was dangling over a pit of lava. Someone must have taken it.

Rex didn't have time to worry. The Mushrana was already gone, and he could do nothing about it. Also the growling mass of tan fur and blood advancing towards him was a problem as well. The ranger decided to stick with his old strategy, and use the water monkey's strength against it.

"Here big, ugly, fat thing!" He called, waving his stick in the air. The Pokemon didn't appear to be influenced at all by his insults, but leapt at him anyways.

He dodged at the last second, causing the monkey to slam into Cress at a tremendous speed. The ranger grinned, thankful to all of those early-morning workouts Almos had forced him to do. It thankfully didn't look like the Striaton brother or his Pokemon would be getting up anytime soon after that blow.

"Rex!" Rex immediately turned to face the sound of the scream. Lena was waving his styler in the air, jumping up and down. His eyes widened. Where could she have gotten that?! Lena was currently on the other side of the clearing, her sweater shredded and a cut on the side of her face. It also looked like her head wound had opened up as well, and both of the bandages on her leg and head were stained with blood. She seemed energetic, despite her injuries, and was calling to him frantically.

"Throw it!" He commanded, running towards her and dropping his stick. She was a far distance away, but he could still catch it if she threw it. She nodded, winding up and hurling the small stylus towards him. He stretched out his fingers to catch his stylus, but before he could, it was intercepted by a whirling mass of tan and red fur.

The fire monkey of the trio leaped out of the bushes and caught the styler with almost supernatural speed. The Pansear landed on the other side of the forest clearing, crushing the styler in it's claws. Rex's jaw dropped. That thing was practically metal! It would have to take a crazy amount of strength to crush it up into dust, like the monkey had just done. Certainly no normal Pokemon could do that.

Lena was by his side in a flash. "Oh Arceus sorry!" She apologized, looking really shaken up.

"It's fine. I can get a new one," He assured her. He had broken his stylus many times before, so getting a new one would be no problem. She relaxed at his statement. But, how was he supposed to fight without his stylus? He continued, looking at the insane Pansear, "But for now... We're in no condition to fight, and Almos is busy battling that Pansage, How are we-"

"Wait! I know," Lena exclaimed, sticking two fingers in her mouth and whistling. A flurry of colorful feathers exploded out of the bushes, running in an awkward way to meet the duo. Rex identified it as an Archen, a prehistoric Pokemon revived. It certainly looked almost awkward, its wings at strange angles and walking in a curious demeanor. She glanced down proudly at the strange bird... thing.

"I caught him with your styler, and used him to battle the Pansear before," She explained.

Rex frowned, "But, that's not possible. Only the ranger assigned to the styler can use it- I had the safety off, didn't I?"

Lena nodded. As a precaution, only the ranger assigned to the styler could use it. It used up a whole lot of the battery, though, having to scan for a fingerprint every single time. So Rex usually turned it off. He sighed, but was secretly glad for his mistake.

The Pansear began preparing a flamethrower, the corners of its mouth beginning to spark fire.

"Well, attack the Pansear!" Rex commanded, beginning to grow worried and _slightly_ impatient. Lena wasn't even making a move to battle the Pansear, while it was a perfect opportunity to strike. They'd have to battle this thing if they wanted to get out here alive, and Lena was his only hope now.

"Uh... I kind of... don't really know how to battle?" She said, biting her lip. Rex's hopes plummeted to the ground.

"What?!" Rex couldn't take over and battle, because the Archen wouldn't listen to him. Lena had been the one to capture it, so only she could control it! _And_ she didn't know how to battle. This was perfect.

"Well, you never taught me!" She shot back. The Pansear was almost finished charging up.

"Well, let's learn now! Ask it to use an attack," Rex said sarcastically, ready to tear out his hair.

"Uh... I don't really know what attacks it knows."

"Oh _Arceus, _Lena! Just use an attack!" Rex screamed. But before he could further coach Lena, a hurtling mass of blue fur coming straight for his head caught his attention. He ducked out of the way just in time. Thanks to all the downtime he gave it, the Panpour had recovered, and looked healthier then ever. The ranger mentally cursed himself for breaking his _always_ _m__ake sure the enemy is dead_ rule.

Rex looked around for his tree branch as a weapon. He had dropped it while going to catch his stylus, and it was currently a few feet away. The Panpour traced his line of sight, and lunged for it. Rex, who was closer then the Panpour, picked it up just in time. He looked up, triumphant, to see the Pansear ready to release it's flamethrower. Lena just stood dumbly, watching.

"Tell Archen to dodge!" He screamed, blocking an attack from the Panpour with his stick. The water monkey growled at him, creeping towards him with it's limbs at weird angles. It was almost like how a Spinark moved, but with four legs.

The Pansear shot a huge blast of flame, headed straight for the poor Archen. It squawked, and looked to Lena to tell it what to do.

"Dodge!" She commanded at the very last second. The Archen dodged swiftly, using its undeveloped wings as propellers to jump higher and faster.

Rex grinned at the girl's success. The Panpour, noticing that its enemy was distracted, shot a blast of water at the ranger's head. Rex turned to see a cascade of water coming straight towards him. The blow knocked him off his feet, slamming him into a tree. He groaned, trying to clear the stars in his vision. Just as everything was coming into focus, the Panpour leaped for Rex's head, trying to tear it clean off. Rex's eyes widened, and rolled out of the way just in time, batting the Panpour against the tree with his tree branch.

Rex turned his attention back to Lena, as the Panpour was recovering It looked like Pansear was charging up a fire blast, and she needed to act fast.

"Tell him to use Rock Throw!" He commanded quickly, noticing the growling Panpour out of the corner of his eye. The monkey leapt at him its claws bared. Rex batted it away with the stick again, slamming it against a tree.

"Ok! Rock Throw," Lena commanded, sounding hesitant with her commands. The Archen literally ripped out a piece of the ground to form a boulder, before chucking it at the Pansear. The Pansear didn't even move, but simple broke the rock with a small blast of flame. Lena's eyes widened.

"Ok, you wanna play tough? Archen! Get into the trees," She commanded, a new sort of battle fire sparking in her eyes. The bird Pokemon nodded, scampering up a nearby tree.

No one had noticed that the three brothers had taken their places as the opponents on the other side of the battlefield. The Pansear growled, and its owner took a step forward. Chili grinned, ready for a battle.

"If it's a battle you want, then you'll get one! Pansear has just been attacking blindly, but with my guidance, we'll be unstoppable," Chili exclaimed. Lena glanced over at the ranger, unsure of what to do next.

"We'll see about that!" Rex shot back, answering for the redheaded girl. She nodded, balling her fists and taking a deep breath. The Panpour had lunged again, this time from the branch of a tall tree. Rex dodged, flailing at it with the stick.

"Use Ember!" Chili commanded, pointing at the Archen in the tree. Rex snorted at the weak move, knowing it couldn't do much damage. The fire monkey proved him wrong, shooting a flaming _fireball_ the size of two bowling balls at the Archen. It squawked, leaping to another tree as the other one caught on fire and nearly exploded from the impact.

"Good job! Keep dodging," Lena commanded, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind. The Archen nodded, preparing to leap again. Chili frowned, and the Pansear shot three more fireballs at the Archen. The bird Pokemon dodged with ease, using its wings to glide from tree branch to tree branch.

Rex turned his attention towards the Panpour. It growled at him, crawling on all fours to try and get closer to him. He swung the tree branch at the Panpour, but the monkey dodged easily. It landed on the Ranger's head, tearing at his face and scalp with its razor sharp claws. Rex screamed, trying desperately to get the monkey off of him.

_Bang!_ a sphere of dark energy ripped the monkey off of Rex, slamming it into a tree. Rex turned to see a very battle-weary Almos, grinning like a maniac.

"An-d-d st-t-tay d-d-down!" The Zoroark commanded finishing the Panpour off with another Dark Pulse.

"Thanks buddy," Rex said, patting the Zoroark on the back.

"Anyt-t-time." Almos grinned. He had many light gashes criss-crossing over his chest, bite marks on his leg, and a tiny leaf embedded in his head, but still managed to smile. Rex now had many cuts running over his head, neck, and face.

"We need to go find some help," The ranger said, noticing the pain of his cuts. The Zoroark nodded, taking a few ragged breaths. "Lena's over there. Maybe she defeated the Pansear, so let's see if we can escape."

To Rex's dismay, it didn't look like she had even commanded the Archen to attack. Lena was just relying on the dodge strategy: Ember, leap to another tree, ember, leap to another tree. Finally, the Archen was in an isolated tree in the middle of the clearing, with no nearby place to jump. Lena's eyes widened.

"Ember!" Chili commanded, and the Pansear charged up an especially huge fireball, before flinging it at the tree.

"Now! Rock Throw!" Lena commanded. The Archen revealed the rock it had been carrying the whole time, and chucked it at the Pansear. It broke the ember, slamming into the fire monkey as a critical hit.

"Yes!" Lena pumped her fist in the air, grinning. Rex and Almos ran up to her, looking worried. The Pansear was already recovering, charging up another ember.

"I d-d-don't think-k-k that will k-k-keep him d-d-down, so y-y-you'll nee-d-d t-to att-t-tack him s-s-some mo-r-re..." Almos trailed off. But a loud rumbling cutting through the air proved him wrong.`

The ground started shaking, and sharp jagged rocks sprung up from the ground. "What's going on?!" Lena screamed.

The Pansear was thrown up into the air by the tremors, and banged around the jagged rocks like some sick game of pinball. A crack in the earth appeared and widened, causing the three striation brothers to fall inside a hole.

"Take cover!" Rex commanded, dragging the three of them away from the fray. Lena covered her head with her arms, and Almos did the same. The Archen squawked, leaping down from the tree and landing on Lena's head. They all were injured, and stumbled a lot as they tried to escape the earthquake. Rex could hear the three Striaton brothers screaming from inside the crack in the earth.

All of a sudden, the earthquake ended. As the dust cleared, Rex could see that the Pansear was knocked out. He took a few ragged breaths, trying to compose himself.

"I don't know what that was, but we'd better make the most of it," Rex breathed, blinking away the dizziness in his eyes. A hand and the tip of green hair appeared at the edge of the hole.

"Yeah, Let's get out of here!" Lena said, begging to break into a weak jog. The Archen, who was still on her head, squawked and flapped it's wings to regain its balance. Lena didn't notice, or didn't care that the bird was coming along for the ride.

Rex and Almos nodded, following her at a quick pace. They quickly caught up, leaving the Striaton brothers and their monkeys behind. It wasn't that far, though, before Lena stopped short, breathing heavily. Both of her bandages were soaked with blood, and new smaller cuts littered her arms and legs.

"Guys... I don't feel so well..." She murmured, rubbing her forehead. Her face was pale, and her words were slurred.

"Relax, L-" She cut Rex off by collapsing onto the ground with a groan, her eyes fluttering shut.

"Lena!" The two boys screamed at the exact same time. Rex quickly checked her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief; she was alive. The Archen pecked at her warily.

"R-r-rex, w-w-we need-d t-to get h-h-her to m-m-medical c-c-care... R-rex?" Rex didn't answer. The wounds on his head were beginning to take their toll. The world around him was twisting, spinning in strange ways. Almos' face seemed distorted in a way. Blackness creeped over the edge of his vision, before consuming him entirely.

* * *

So, I promised I would explain the weird italicized part in the beginning. Let's see if you smart ones out there guessed it correctly. The first part was actually The Archen's thoughts about his life. I have always thought of Archen as a primitive sort of creature, with little to no understanding of what is going on except for their basic needs. When Archen was taken away from his normal environment and no longer needed to search for food and etc., he began to develop new feelings, like love and happiness for his caretakers (Five points to whoever can guess who they were!). It was almost in an evolution, in a sense.

By hands, who did I confuse? ...Yep, that's a lot. Oh well! I hope this was an action-packed chapter. And once again, I am sososososososo sorry for updating late.

Oh, and if Rex, Lena, and Almos sang a song together, it would probably be Together, Wherever We Go from _Gypsy_

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.

Adios!

~Miss Optimism


	8. Mysteries and Discoveries

Oh Arceus, I am so sorry. I lied. I was late again. I feel really bad. So, here's the promised chapter. Let's just get right to it.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON! IF I DID, MAYBE I WOULD UPDATE FASTER? PROBABLY NOT!

* * *

Rex woke up to the sound of falling rain. It was just pure peace for a moment, something he hadn't felt after he had become a ranger. It was peace, until the searing pain forced his eyes open and shocked his senses.

The ranger sat up forcibly, taking a gasp and looking around. He was lying on a ratty couch in a run-down room with water stains and cracks in the ceiling. Blankets were strewn all over the floor, along with open first-aid kits and bloody bandages. He warily placed a hand to his head, feeling the new cotton bandages that someone had wrapped his wound in.

"Well, it's about time you're awake!" Rex turned sharply to see an elderly lady standing in the doorway. He immediately tensed up, but then saw who was standing behind her.

"G-g-good t-to s-see y-y-you aw-wake," Almos said, grinning. The Zoroark walked over to Rex's couch, giving him a pat on the back.

"Almos!" Rex exclaimed, trying to stand up but winced as a wave of dizziness overcame him.

"Take it easy there, son," The elderly lady said, making her way over to Rex's makeshift bed, "You got hurt pretty bad, so you might wanna slow down a bit."

Rex bit his lip, hating the feeling of helplessness that this situation gave him, but sat up slower all the same. Rex could never stand being sick, injured, or anything of the sort. It made him feel helpless, and he loathed that almost more then anything.

"Y-y-you're luck-k-ky, R-rex. Y-you d-d-didn't loos-se th-hat m-much b-blood," Almos explained.

"Yes. You're little friend was in much worse condition when Almos brought her in," The lady finished.

"Lena?! Is she OK?" The lady was about to answer, when Rex stopped her, "Stop! Can you explain from the beginning?"

She nodded slowly, sitting down on a wicker chair next to the couch, "Miss Lena is fine. She recovered much quicker then you did, and woke up this morning. In fact, she's playing with the children downstairs right now." Rex was about to open his mouth, when she continued. "You're in the Day Care center on Route Three. Almos brought you here three nights ago, you both having serious injuries. It would have been a whole lot worse, but a group of Audino, sensing an injury, came and helped to heal you using Heal Pulse."

Rex nodded slowly, processing the information. "Has anyone-" He started, but was cut off by the lady.

"Yes, yes, some authorities came to look for you. We didn't turn you over, though, after what Almos told us about your mission," The lady explained, waving her hand in a bored way.

"Almos?! You told her?!" Rex hissed, and his partner nodded sheepishly.

"H-h-hey, I h-had n-no c-choice! Y-y-you w-were r-really h-h-hurt!" Almos protested.

"Fine..." Rex humphed, "But, why is your translator all spazzy?"

"It-t-t g-g-got d-damaged i-n th-he f-fight."

"That sucks. Did the Ranger's Union contact you already?" Since the translator was usually a main component of one of Rex and Almos' missions, the Mechanics had installed a damage sensor into it. So whenever the translator collar broke, which was often, they'd get a call on Rex's phone, asking there whereabouts and when to drop off the new collar.

"Y-yeah," Almos nodded, "A-and I a-also t-t-told th-hem ab-bout y-your st-tylus. T-they're d-d-dropping t-them b-b-both off t-t-tomorrow."

"That's great." Rex grinned.

The elderly lady, who had been waiting patiently, cleared her throat to get their attention. Their head's immediately snapped towards her, and she began, "Lunch is waiting for you downstairs, and if you feel up to moving around-"

At the mention of food, Rex was already standing up and ready to go. His stomach felt extremely empty, and it growled at the mere thought of lunch. Almos laughed at his partner's impatient stomach.

"Well, it does seem like you're hungry!" The lady laughed, opening the door to the hallway.

* * *

The downstairs was very loud, full of children. There were about twenty in all, playing in a corner on the opposite side of the room with many toys strewn about. Rex found it rather hard to hear over the screaming toddlers. It was a pretty big room, but it echoed, making the toddlers even louder.

"Is it always like this?!" He called the lady, which he know knew as Mrs. Woods. Mrs. Woods was an elderly lady who apparently helped her daughter with this daycare for toddlers.

"They'd usually be outside this time of day, but since it's raining they're all outside," She answered. A lady, possibly in her twenties, walked over to Rex and Almos. Mrs. Woods nodded at her, "I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Mary."

Mary waved, "I run the toddler daycare center. Mom and Dad used to run the Pokemon Daycare center across from here but..." Mary trailed off, and they stood in awkward silence until a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey! Rex, you're up!"

Lena was sitting by one of the toddlers, playing with him, when she jumped up upon seeing him and dashed over to the other side of the room where they were. Except, this wasn't the redhead he knew. Lena suddenly was a brunette.

"What happened to your hair?!" He asked, not caring that he sounded rude. He had always associated Lena as being the sassy redhead, and he couldn't really picture her as a brunette. But here she was, standing right in front of him with light brown hair.

"This is my hair's natural color," She answered flatly. She seemed a bit uncomfortable with her hair color, but shrugged, trying to hide it, "I usually dye it red, and I guess it wore off. And your hair dye wore off too." She looked at his head, pointing to his now-blond hair.

Rex grabbed a strand of his hair, struggling to see what color it was. It had turned back to being blond. "Oh, this is my hair's natural color as well. I dye it for a disguise, as you probably knew by now."

A child started crying on the other side of the room. Both Mrs. Woods and Mary winced, knowing the kid needed their attention. "We'll be right back." Mrs. Woods said, rushing over to the child with Mary on her heels.

Lena shrugged, continuing, "So, that's cool. We both dye our hair." She looked around, before adding in a hushed tone, "We should keep it this way, because those Team Plasma goons are looking for two redheads and a Zoroark. They're not looking for a brunette, blond, or bluenette!"

Rex nodded, not really caring about what she said, "Good idea," he shrugged, then remembered his growling stomach, "but a better idea would be lu-" Rex stopped when he noticed the rainbow feathery bird Pokemon on Lena's head. It had been hanging off the back of her ponytail, and had been hidden had she not turned her head slightly.

"Is that the Archen?!" He demanded, pointing to the bird and remembering the Pokemon Lena had captured in the Dreamyard. It let out a little squawk, a blank look on it's face.

"Yep! I'm keeping him," Lena smiled, petting the bird. It smiled, or at least Rex thought it was a smile. The bird didn't really seem the smartest.

The two boys looked at each other. "No." They both said in unison. Keeping a pokemon was out of the question with Plasma Goons hunting them. It would just add to the problems. And this one didn't look like the smartest, so he doubted it could pull it's own weight.

Lena stuck her tongue out, "Oh come on! Almos is a Pokemon, yet you keep him!"

Almos looked extremely offended at that statement. He hated being referred to as just a Pokemon, and in Rex's eyes he was more human then Pokemon. Almos was about to retort a harsh reply when Rex cut him off. He took a deep breath, as if talking to one of the children in the daycare, "Lena, Almos is different then a-"

She cut him off again, "And I wasn't asking for your permission! I'm keeping him, and that's final."

"Lena-" Rex started.

Lena took a deep breath, tears filling her eyes. "Ohpleasepleasepleaseplease!" She looked at him with her signature 'Growlithe eyes' and pouted. She looked like she was about to cry, and let out a little sniffle. "Please, Rex, we're the best of friends already! Pleaseplease-"

"Fine!" He growled, just wanting to get some lunch. He really couldn't take her crying anymore. Almos poked him, his eyes wide with a 'wtf dude?' look on his face. It then hit Rex that Lena had been faking. He slapped his forehead and groaned, shaking his head.

Lena immediately turned happy again. "Yay! You hear that, Archie? We're gonna be friends forever!" She squealed, taking the Pokemon off of her head and hugging it. The bird let out another squawk, but Rex couldn't tell if it was happy or just plain confused.

"Oh no, if we're keeping it, you're not naming it Archie." Rex shook his head, his mind shooting to the infamous Team Magma leader. He wouldn't have a Pokemon named after a criminal.

"Why not?" Lena pouted.

"Just no..." The brunette looked crestfallen. "Um... How about Chen?" Rex offered. He'd admit it wasn't the most creative name, but he wasn't the most creative person, after all.

Lena stuck her tongue out. "Just Chen is boring! Hm..." She thought for a moment, before grinning, "Chenly! I'll name him Chenly."

"Chen_ly?_" Rex asked, and Lena nodded a stubborn pout on her face. He shrugged, figuring it was better then nothing. Rex wasn't in the mood to argue.

The trio had been so caught up in their conversation, that they hadn't noticed Mrs. Woods had been listening to the naming of the Archen. She decided to step in. "And I'll bet I can probably find an old Pokeball at the Daycare Center somewhere. I'm sure we have something under the piles of rubble." Lena's eyes lit up, and Mrs. Woods smiled, "So while I go look, lunch is in the back room." The elderly pointed to a door far away from all the commotion the kids were making.

"Great!" Lena exclaimed, and dashed towards the back room, without giving anyone a look back.

Mary sighed, smiling in a nostalgic way, "She must be a handful. She reminds me of some of the kids here."

Both Rex and Almos nodded. "You have no idea!" Rex exclaimed.

"Well, Mary and I will try to find a Pokeball for Miss Shock," Mrs. Woods said, starting towards the front door, Mary following after her.

"Wait! Thanks so much for all your help," Rex said, smiling at the elderly lady and her daughter.

"Oh, it was nothing. If I can do my part to bring back Unova, the way it _should_ be, the I'd do anything to help you, _Ranger Rex_," She winked at him, and Mary nodded, grinning.

After they left, Rex turned sternly to his partner. "Just _how_ much did you tell them?!"

"H-h-hey! At l-least t-t-they're o-on o-our s-s-side." Almos protested. The Zoroark would admit that it _was_ a stupid idea, telling the daycare couple his mission, but it saved Rex's and Lena's lives. And it got them a place to stay and food to boot!

Rex sighed, shaking his head, "Well anyways, they're not gonna turn us over anytime soon... I hope. So, let's go get lunch."

* * *

The lunch spread was simple. It was a crude make-your-own sandwich bar, with lettuce, meat, tomato, bread, and other sandwich ingredients in small bowls on a wooden table. The table was situated in the kitchen, and it looked like the couple had went out of their way to prepare the best, even though their best wasn't very good. Mr. Woods was very proud to have a real ranger in his house, and kept asking if there was anything else he could do to help.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Woods. I promise, we don't need anything else," Rex said, thanking the man for the fifth time. Lena was already chowing down on her peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich, while Almos was daintily picking out just the right lettuce and tomato. He didn't like anything that was deformed to be on his sandwich. The Archen was standing on the table, pecking at a piece of bread.

"Oh, that's great m'boy," The old man said, smiling, "I'll just let you all eat lunch. If you need anything, just holler!" He waved walking out of the door.

"We will!" Rex called, sitting down to make his sandwich.

"Mmmph!" Lena mumbled, her mouth full of food. She looked like she was trying to get their attention.

"Yes?" The two boys answered. The Archen let out a little squawk, as if to say 'yes?' as well, but his attention returned to the piece of bread he had been pecking at.

She swallowed. "Rex! Are you getting a new stylus? I forgot to ask."

Rex nodded. "Yep. They're dropping it off tomorrow."

"That's good."

"Though, it's thanks to you it broke! If you hadn't taken it during the battle, it wouldn't be broken." Rex retorted, slightly angry at his client's rash actions. It was crazy, taking a ranger's stylus in a middle of a battle, but Lena had somehow managed to get her hands on it. And he didn't even know how she could. It had been clipped specially to his belt so it wouldn't fall off, and he probably would have noticed her trying to take it.

"But, I didn't take it," Lena said, looking honestly confused.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I didn't take it." Lena nodded, tilting her head to the side as if she was trying to remember what had happened.

"But if you didn't take it, who did?" Rex asked. It didn't look like Lena was lying, and he was trained in telling when people were lying. The fact that she hadn't taken it confused him. Who could of?

"L-l-lena, w-w-what h-h-h-happened t-t-that n-n-night?" Almos asked.

"Well, I was running from the Pansear. It was trying to roast me, and I was panicking. It cornered me against one of those broken walls, and I had nowhere to go. The monkey blasted a flamethrower at me... but I was pushed out of the way," Lena explained, squinting as she tried to remember what had happened.

"Who saved you?" Rex asked.

"Uh... I don't really think it was a person. It was more of a force," Lena said, trying to explain. She looked confused, trying to find the words that could describe the situation.

"S-s-so, y-y-you're s-s-saying it-t w-w-was a p-p-psychic b-b-blast?"

"I don't know! Everything all happened at once. Then someone screamed at me, 'catch!' and your stylus came flying at my face. I caught it just as I spotted Chenly up in the trees, and I captured him, thinking he might be useful. And then you know what happened..." She trailed off.

Rex and Almos just stared at her. Her story was hard to believe, to tell the truth, but Rex didn't think she was lying.

Lena noticed their stares of disbelief and huffed, turning her attention back to her sandwich. "If you don't believe me, then that's fine! That's what happened. It was all crazy, but that's what happened."

Rex cleared his throat, "We believe you! It's just that... who could have stolen my styler, saved your life, and then helped you catch Chenly all without being seen?" It troubled him. Whoever could have done that was a powerful potential enemy. And the fact that the person's identity was a mystery made it even more threatening.

Almos mused over the question, but Lena just shrugged, accepting the facts. "Well, I've got my own guardian angel looking out for me, and I can't complain about that!"

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. No one had anything else to say. All Rex did, and could do, was worry.

* * *

A flash of lightning lit up the pitch-black sky, with a huge crash of thunder roaring after it. It worried Rex how close the storm was to the Daycare center, but he guessed there was nothing he could do about it. It was late at night, and he and Almos were sharing a room. Almos was sleeping on the floor after an intense game of rock-paper-scissors. Although, Rex would admit, the lumpy couch wasn't exactly luxury either. So either way, neither boy would get very much sleep. The pounding rain and earth-shaking thunder didn't help either.

So, all Rex could do was ponder about what had happened in the Dreamyard. Everything was strange about that night. Those insanely powerful monkeys, Lena's 'guardian angel', and that Archen appearing out of nowhere. Archen wasn't a common species, to say the very least. They were extinct! So, just what was an Archen doing out in the wild? Well... Rex guessed, there would be an influx of uncommon Pokemon thank's to Team Plasma, so it was possible, but who even had an Archen?!

Another boom of thunder shook the house, and turned his thoughts to the mysterious earthquake that had been in the Dreamyard. Now that he thought about it, the 'earthquake' that had let them get away, was very suspicious as well. It had appeared out of nowhere, in a place where earthquakes were as rare as a Dratini's toenails, and it only effected the small area that they were in. It was almost like a Pokemon's Earthquake attack... In fact, now that Rex thought about it, it probably was a Pokemon's Earthquake attack. It fit the description exactaly.

**_CRASH!_**

The loudest thunder blast shook the very foundation of the house. Rex couldn't help but jump, shocked even though he knew it was only sound.

"WaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhH!" A shrill scream, almost like someone was trying to sing but was failing badly, followed the thunder. He identified the scream as Lena's, who was currently sleeping in the room next door. It didn't sound like she was in pain or frightened, just like she was screaming because she could.

**_BOOM!_**

Another flash of light followed by another crash. And then, "**WWAAAAAAA**AAAaaaaaaaaaaaHHHH!" followed right after. It sounded like... she was scared? Lena was scared?

"Hey?" He warily called out, sitting up and getting off the couch. He was careful not to step on Almos, who could sleep through a war if he was tired enough, and made his way over to the door that separated his room from Lena's. "Lena? Are you OK?" He asked, pushing then door open and trying to see what was the matter.

In the darkness, he could make out Lena's rigid form sitting straight upright on the bed. She was holding her head and shaking it back and forth, as if trying to block out the thunder and pounding rain.

"Lena? What's wrong?" He asked, walking over to her bed.

"The thundeeeerrrrrr..." She slurred. He could tell she was still half-asleep, and wasn't fully aware of her surroundings or even what she was saying. He sat down beside her, putting a hand awkwardly on her shoulder and trying to get her to stop shaking. He wasn't very good at this comforting stuff, but if he wanted to get to sleep without her screaming her head off, he'd at least need to try.

"Are you scared?" He asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

Lena shook her head furiously, "Nononono... Just too loud!"

**_Crash!_ **

Another blast, slightly farther away, sounded. Lena trembled, covering her ears and letting out another ear-splitting scream, "WAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!" It was if she was trying to overpower the thunder.

"Oh." Rex nodded, putting the pieces together, "You don't like the thunder because it's louder then you, huh?" She nodded sleepily, and Rex laughed. Lena was just being... Lena. "But Lena, you can't be louder then thunder. That's impossible."

"Nonononono..." Lena protested, shaking her head, "I _have_ to be louder... _have_ to be louder..." She murmured, trailing off.

Rex laughed, "Why do have to be louder, then?"

"Because... no one will notice me," She said, seeming slightly more awake, before her eyes fluttered shut and she rested her head on Rex's shoulder.

Rex was about to say something, when he stopped, thinking about what she said. Lena wanted attention. He had known kids at Ranger School, always doing things for attention. Lena wasn't too far off that, he deduced.

"Why do you need to be noticed?" He asked, slightly shaking her so she could answer.

Her eyes fluttered half-open, pausing a bit before answering, "Because if no one... notices me... I'm nothing."

Rex had heard the saying, 'If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'. It applied perfectly to this situation. Rex felt like he needed to comfort the girl in some way. "Hey, it's OK, Lena. You'll be heard. Trust me, now, get some sleep." He said, trying to pry her arm off of his.

Lena nodded sleepily, falling backwards onto her bed and started to snore softly. Rex got back up quietly, and made it back to his room without disturbing Almos.

No one knew, or even began to think, that a pair of brown eyes, glinting red as lightning flashed off of them, was watching them carefully.

* * *

Hopefully the ending makes up for the filler chapter. But hey, a lot is discovered in this!

Anyways, I WILL be on time next time. Thanks for all the views and etc. Thank you for reading this chapter!

I PROMISE I WILL BE ON TIME!

~Miss Optimism


	9. Onward to Nacrene City!

Happy birthday to me... Happy birthday to me... Happy birthday dear MEEEE! Happy Birthday to me! Yep, it's my birthday, May 17th! Hooray! I got a pack of Altoids, mechanical pencils, and a huge sunburn... :P

Oh well, onto the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON. I NEVER WILL.

* * *

Rex waited patiently outside the Daycare center, his head tilted up so he could see the sky clearly. It was truly the calm after the storm, with the sky a nice blue color with almost no clouds. Miss Lena seemed to have no recollection of last night, or she was too proud to admit she had been the slightest bit insecure. Either way, she was keeping oddly quiet.

"So, when's this delivery coming?" She asked loudly. Scratch the part about being quiet.

Rex sighed loudly. They had been waiting outside the Daycare center for about an hour, up bright an early to wait for whoever or whatever was bringing his new styler and Almos' new translator. After many of the toddlers in the daycare center had made fun of the blue-haired boy, he had stopped talking for awhile to pout. Well, not really, he just hated the sound of his translator glitching up to that degree, and along with the teasing children, Almos had decided to shut up for awhile. He was currently waiting silently beside Rex, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Lena, if you think this is bad, when we were investigating Stark Mountain in Sinnoh, we had to wait three whole days for a new translator. Three whole days of doing nothing but stare at the sky!"

Lena didn't look phased at all, and yawned, "This is still boring." She stuck her tongue out at them. "And when can we get going? I've got an agenda, you know! That package won't deliver itself."

Rex frowned, remembering that Lena had her own mission to complete. She had to give whatever 'package' she had to Professor Juniper, the man, not the lady.

"Why don't we leave right after the styler and translator come? It would be best to leave without causing a commotion or drawing attention to ourselves," Rex offered, glancing at Almos to see if he agreed with the plan. The blue-haired boy nodded slowly, analyzing the plan, before giving a nod of approval.

"Great!" Lena exclaimed, her short brown hair bobbing up and down. Rex still had to get used to her being a brunette. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just confusing. He could tell she was slightly apprehensive about her change in hair color, but she hid it well. Rex, on the other hand, was glad to be blond again. The hair dye he had used in the first place as a disguise had flaked a bit and he just wasn't used to it.

Lena shaded her eyes and glanced up, before jumping and pointing to the sky. "Hey! What's that?"

Rex followed to where his finger was pointing. It looked like a huge bird Pokemon flying towards them. He immieditally recognized it to be a Fearow. "Yup," He said, noticing the package in it's claws, "That's what we've been waiting for!"

"Ugh, finally!" Lena groaned, happy that the waiting was over.

The bird pokemon dipped lower, and Rex rushed up to meet it. The Fearow didn't even bother landing, dropping the package straight down into Rex's arms before flying away.

"Great!" Rex cried, ripping oped the package. "Yeah!" He held up triumphantly a shiny new styler in his signature 'ranger pose'. Almos slapped his forehead and groaned at the cheesy comical face Rex was making.

"J-j-j-just g-g-give m-m-me m-m-my t-t-translator!" He stuttered, reaching for the box and pulling out his collar. Almos sighed in relief, putting it on and hearing it snap into place. "That's better."

Lena smiled, before cocking her head to the side as if thinking about something. "Hey! Can I have the old translator?" Lena asked.

"Why?"

"For Chenly! It would be cool to hear what he has to say, you know?" She explained, holding out her hand impatiently.

Rex and Almos looked at each other, and shrugged. "What could go wrong?" Rex asked, handing her the collar.

Lena squealed happily, jumping up and down. "Oh! Wait, watch this," She said, digging into her bag and retrieving a miniature Pokeball. It was slightly worn since it had been used before, but it still worked fine. Mrs. Woods had to look everywhere for it, but she had finally found one in an old closet. The brunette enlarged it, getting into a battle pose and tossing it up, just like she'd seen the people on TV do, "Let's goooooooo, Chenly!" In a burst of light, the ancient bird Pokemon materialized. He sort of sat there, letting out a dull squawk.

"Now, let's see how this works..." She fastened it around his neck, making sure it wasn't too tight. Lena flipped the 'on' switch, and stood up triumphantly.

Static. Nothing but static came out of the translator. Chenly looked at her inquisitively, before staring straight ahead blankly.

"Um... Rex? Why isn't he saying anything?" Lena asked, straightening the collar and making sure it was on correctly.

"Well... he might be not able to talk? Or have nothing to say?" Rex suggested, looking to Almos for help.

Almos shook his head, confused, "The collar uses Psychic Pokemon energy to read basic brainwaves and interpret them into languages that humans understand. It should be picking up something... The only reason _why_ it would be static is that maybe Chenly has so low of an intelligence quotient that the collar can't pick his primal brain waves up."

Lena looked offended, gasping and gathering up the bird Pokemon into her arms, cuddling him, "Oh, don't listen to him, Chenly! Big bad Almos doesn't know what he's saying. You're smarter then any pokemon, you're the smartest..." Almos sweat dropped as Lena fawned over her Pokemon. Rex sighed, rubbing his forehead at Lena's stubbornness.

"So... should we get going already?" Rex offered, breaking the silence.

"Good idea. Chenly, return please!" Lena tapped the bird Pokemon with her poke ball, putting it pack in her bag. "Off to Nacrene City!"

* * *

The one thing Rex learned about Lena, two minutes into the road, was that she was not fond of walking. He also deducted that Almos was loosing his patience fast.

"I'm hungry... When are we gonna be at the city?! My feet are killlliiiiiinnnnngggg me!" Lena complained for the fortieth time, dragging her feet on the ground.

"Lena! It's been three minutes! Be quiet, please!" Almos barked, grabbing his head and groaning. The poor Zoroark had been pushed to the ends of his nerves, and frankly couldn't take it anymore. He didn't like to be annoyed. Lena liked to annoy. This plus that equals BOOM!

The brunette looked a bit taken aback, but soon regained her signature stubborn pout and crossed her arms, looking very upset. Almos sighed, content with a few seconds of silence, and Rex let out a deep breath as well.

"Hey, is that Nacrene city up there?" Lena asked, ten minutes later. Rex could tell that she had been dying to talk, and finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He guessed it was the longest she had gone without talking in the longest time.

Almos groaned, glancing up to see the silhouettes of dark warehouses against the sky. "Yep, that's Nacrene City." A sly smile spread across the Zoroark's face as he formulated a plan, "Hey Lena? There might be some Team Plasm guards up ahead. Why don't you just run ahead and check? Just to make sure it's safe?"

Rex grinned, noticing this as a plan to get Lena to shut up for awhile. "Yeah Lena, run ahead and scout for Plasma guards!" He made a 'shoo'ing motion with his hand. There probably weren't any Plasma guards. Rex knew that for a fact.

Lena nodded eagerly, "Yeah! Don't worry, Rex, me and Chenly'll get whoever's up ahead." She flashed a peace sign, before taking off at a low jog.

"Chenly and _I!_" Almos shouted at her. He couldn't stand bad grammar.

"Whatever!" She called back, before disappearing around a corner.

As soon as she was out of sight, both Rex and Almos heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Arceus, is she annoying or what?" Rex asked, rubbing his head.

"T-tell me about it!" Almos laughed.

"Yeah, kinda makes me regret taking this mission. I don't think my ears can take much more..." Rex mused.

"B-but, just wait for the reward money! That'll make up for it, I-i'm certain."

"You're right. 'Good things come to those who wait'."

"Where'd you hear that quote?" Almos asked, surprised that Rex knew something relatively sophisticated. Rex wasn't the person who quoted famous philosophers.

"You."

"That makes sense.." Almos sweat dropped. They rounded the bend to see Lena, stopped short at the entrance to Nacrene. Rex squinted, trying to see what was blocking her, and bit his lip when he realized that it was two Plasma Guards. Lena glanced over her shoulder, waving him over. Plasma Guards. Just his luck.

"Guys!" She called, waving them down frantically, "Guys! Come over here, these nice people want to know why we're here." She looked at them and made a panicky motion when the Plasma Guards weren't looking.

"Uh... Coming Livia!" Rex responded, jogging quickly over to where the two Plasma Guards were stationed at the gate.

She looked at him quizzically, "Who's- OH! Never mind..."

Rex sweatdropped as the two Plasma Guards looked confused. The first one, a girl about Rex's age, spoke first. "We're just checking who comes in and out of the city. What is your business in Nacrene?"

"To go to the museum-" "-Eat at the Cafe." Rex and Lena said at the same time. Rex glared at Lena, flicking her on the forehead. He made a mental note to teach her how to lie.

"What my friends meant was that we were going to the museum and then eating at the Cafe," Almos explained, causing the two to breath heavy sighs of relief.

"May I see your ID?" The other Plasma guard asked, a tall man about Rex's age as well. Wow. They really were recruiting young.

"Oh. Um... we forgot-" Lena started to lie, when Rex pulled out three fake ID's. He showed them to the lady, with very very blurry pictures of people who looked like Rex, Almos, and Lena. "I mean, we didn't forget!" Lena nodded quickly, and Rex face-palmed.

"Can we go through now?" Rex asked, wanting to get out of this situation as fast as possible, before Lena blew it again.

The girl looked them over, before giving a small nod, "Go ahead."

The trio breathed silent sighs of relief, before rushing through the gateway and into Nacrene city. As soon as they were out of Team Plasma's sight, they relaxed.

"Arceus! That was close," Lena breathed, "I thought for a sec that they recognized us."

"Yeah, Lena," Rex said, shaking his head, "We _really_ need to teach you how to lie."

"Teaching me how to lie? Rex, isn't that morally wrong?" She teased, nudging him with her arm.

"Yeah, well, when we're on the run and can't blow our mission we need you to know how to lie!" He protested, walking a bit faster then her, trying to get away.

"Did you just call it _our_ mission?!" Lena demanded, her eyes lighting up.

Rex stopped short, "N-no! I mean Almos' and my mission, I didn't mean to include y-"

"Yes! I am finally a member of this mission! Go Team Flame!" Lena cheered, jumping up in the air and pumping her fist.

"N-not so loud!" Almos hissed, "And, really? This T-t-team Flame thing again? Seriously, we're _rangers_, not some terrorist group!" He shook his head and corrected himself, "I-i mean, Rex and I are rangers and would prefer not to be a clumped in with this 'team' group. I mean, Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma, we're not one of them!" He looked to Rex for agreement.

Rex shrugged, "I think it's kinda cool. Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yes! I'm right," Lena cheered, and Almos groaned, face-palming. Lena stopped, frowning, "I'm hungry." She pouted, and her stomach let out a loud growl.

Rex laughed, "Yeah! You sound like you are." She glared at him, and was about to kick him when Almos stopped.

"We can go have lunch at that famous Cafe, _just_ like to told the guards." He snickered, pleased about how well they had deceived the guard at the gate.

"Sounds cool," Rex said, shrugging, "Is Team Flame all in agreement?"

Almos growled. Lena nodded eagerly, "Yeah!" They set off to the restaurant without another single word; they didn't need one. Strangely, they had begun to work as sort of a mismatched team. Rex had begun to notice this, and it made him a bit proud. He could just imagine them breezing through the rest of this mission, fighting like ninjas and blowing up Plasma Bases like there was no tomorrow! Rex betted the rest of the mission would be easy...

Speaking of easy, Rex thought, things have been oddly quiet. As they made their way into the Cafe, Rex immediately knew something was going to happen. It was too easy, no bad guys attacking them or secret bombs under the table (Rex had checked) or anything dangerous. Rex sat down and they waited for the waitress to take their orders.

"Hello, and welcome to the Nacrene City Cafe! May I take your order?"

"Uh... I'll have the Watchog Waffles please," Rex ordered. It was still pretty early, and the gang had missed breakfast while waiting for Rex's styler and translator.

"Coming right up!" The waitress smiled at him, taking Lena's and Almos's orders before rushing off to prepare their food. Yep, it was defiantly the calm before the storm.

"Look at this food!" Lena exclaimed, chowing down her Pidove Pancakes (do not contain actual Pidove) like a Grumpig. The service was insanely quick. Too convenient. Rex knew something was wrong. He cut up his waffle, and took a bite. _Mmmmmmhhhh... This tastes like heaven!_ Rex thought, wolfing down the rest of his meal.

Maybe he was just being too paranoid. Yeah, that was it. Maybe the rest of the mission will be a breeze. Maybe he'll finish early, and get the reward money plus a bonus earlier then expected. Maybe-

"Uh... Excuse me, sir," A short, gangly man wearing glasses and a lab coat tapped Rex on the shoulder. "Are you Rex Kenzington?" He added in a hushed tone. Rex stared at him in shock, unwilling to say anything that would give away anything more. The man straightened up, pushing his glasses back. "Your expression tells me everything, son. I've come to deliver a message. Ex-Gym Leader Leonora would like to speak with you right now."

Oh shit.

* * *

Outside the city gate, the two Plasma guards were huddled, conversing frantically with each other. The girl, Elise, was pointing to a very blurry picture of three people.

"That was them! I know it, I saw those three in Accumula," Elise said angrily.

Leo, the boy, shook his head. "Elise... are you sure it was them? Because if you're not and we-"

"Yeah yeah, I know what will happen," Elise interrupted bitterly, "But it was them. That girl... she was defiantly a redhead. But, now she's a brunette! Why would she need to change her hair color? For a disguise maybe? Hmmm?" Elise nudged Leo frantically.

"Elise, that could mean she just got tired of her old hair color and wanted a change," Leo said, shaking his head, "Come on. It could be anything! They could just be random nobodies." Elise was about to open her mouth, when Leo silenced her again, "I admit, it is a bit suspicious that three people, one girl and two guys, are traveling from Striaton City to here. We're supposed to be looking for three strangers, one girl and two guys, that are traveling from Striaton. They could be our fugitives, but they could also be random people. Let's try and-"

"Yeah yeah, get all our facts straight before we jump to conclusions," Elise grumbled, "All are innocent before proven guilty."

Leo smiled warmly at her, "Good job. You're finally starting to get it."

Elise didn't respond, biting her lip as she thought.

Leo glanced over at her. She really never was this quiet. She'd usually be giving him a lecture on the native Pokemon in this area, but she didn't say a word. "Hey, Elise, are y-"

"I GOT IT!" Elise exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Give me your phone," She commanded, grabbing it out of Leo's hands before he could react. Smart Phones connected straight into the PC computer system, and since both Elise and Leo were members of Team Plasma, they had access to all sorts of confidential papers, lists and charts and such. You could also find a list of everyone that lived in the Unova region.

"Can I have my phone back?" Leo asked irritably, holding his hand out.

"Look." Elise commanded, handing him his phone.

Leo glanced at what was on the screen, and raised an eyebrow. "You looked up all the people named Livia? Why-"

"Because that's what the girl's name was, remember? He distinctly called her Livia," Elise explained, "And, the search I did includes all people named Livia, nicknamed Livia, and named slash nicknamed Olivia, just in case we heard wrong." She pointed to the screen, "There are only twenty-five people in this region who fall under that category. Look at their pictures."

Along with a personal record of a citizen of Unova's name, nickname, age, date/place of birth, and anything else that Team Plasma wanted, a recent picture was mandatory.

Leo scrolled through the pictures, squinting, "None of them look remotely like the girl. But they could be from a different region or-"

"No, they couldn't," Elise argued, putting her hands on her hips.

"Why not? Not everyone has to live in Unova," Leo countered.

"Because, you saw their ID, right? That was Unovian ID," Elise said, grinning. At the age of ten, you were issued an ID in whatever region you lived in. This also functioned as a license to train Pokemon, but Team Plasma had taken that aspect away. All the IDs were distinct colors, red for Kanto, gold for Johto, pink for Sinnoh, green for Honnen, and gray for Unova and so on and so on. "You can only get Unovian ID if you're a-"

"Unovian citizen!" Leo exclaimed, fitting the pieces all together. "And to be a Unovian Citizen, you have to be-"

"Registered in the PC computer," Elise finished, grinning madly.

Leo grinned back, "Elise, you're a genius!" He exclaimed, patting her on the back. She grinned back at him, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Leo didn't notice. "I think we found our fugitives!"

"Oh, when the seven sages find out, we'll be promoted for sure!"

In all their celebrating, neither of them had noticed a hooded figure approaching. The figure stopped, tapping Leo on the shoulder to get his attention.

Leo jumped, turning around. "What do you need, sir?" He asked, barely able to contain his happiness.

"Did I hear you correctly? You found the people Team Plasma has been looking for?" The person asked in a low, slightly dangerous voice.

Elise didn't notice the threat in his voice, and frowned at the figure. "I'm sorry, but that is Team Plasma's business, and Team Plasma's business only," She said with authority in her voice. "You may pass into Nacrene City now."

The figure ignored her. "If that is the case, then I can't allow Team Plasma to find them."

"Huh?" Leo said, honestly confused, "What do you mean by-" Almost instantly, Leo could only see red. He heard voices, screaming, crying, laughing maniacally, much to loud and way to soft everywhere. He fell to his knees, or at least that's what he thought he did. Swirls of colors danced in his vision, threatening to swallow him up, and a red sticky substance began to cover his hands, feet, knees, chest, shoulders, all the way up to his mouth until he couldn't breath anymore. He did the only thing anyone in his situation would do: he screamed. He could vaguely hear Elise screaming beside him, but that didn't matter. He didn't know what mattered...

The hooded figure stepped over the two grunts, kicking them aside like trash before heading through the gate. "Don't worry," He whispered, as if to no one, "Rex, Almos, Lena, your secret is safe for now."

* * *

At least we got some action in! Yay! Action! Oh, and if the Daycare couple had a musical theater theme song, it would probably be something like "Be Our Guest", From the musical version of Beauty and the Beast, NOT the movie. (Though, I don't think there's a difference, the musical version sounds better.)

Ok, see you all next time!

~Miss Optimism


	10. And We Battle!

I am so sorry for the late update. I've been really busy with finals, an extremely big competition, auditions for my musical theater summer camp, and basically have had NO time whatsoever to write. I AM SO SORRY! Seriously, I will try to be more punctual later in the future.

It's summer for me now, but don't get your hopes up for faster updates. Sadly, because my intense musical theater summer camp takes ten hours a day out of my schedule, I will barely have any time to write. Later updates should be expected! I really hope this chapter is up to par, and makes up for my lateness and such. Now, onto the disclaimer!

I DO NOT OWN POKEMON. I DO NOT NEED TO ELABORATE ON THIS MATTER, EITHER.

* * *

The second-worst thing that could happen to you during a mission, was having your cover blown. The absolute worst thing that could happen to you during a mission was having your cover blown in a room full of people. Both of which were happening to Ranger Rex right now, and he could do nothing but gape. He was a trained professional, but lately this mission had been giving him headaches and bags under his eyes, so all he really could do was stare in horror.

"Um... hello? Son, are you OK?" The scientist-man asked, concerned that Rex wasn't answering and just staring blankly ahead. He waved his hand in front of his eyes, trying to get Rex's attention. No response. The man cleared his throat and continued, "As I said before, Ex-Gym Leader Leonora would like to speak with you, so if you'd just come with me, Ranger Re-"

"Keep your voice down!" Almos hissed fiercely, snapping Rex out of his trance. Luckily, the Zoroark was good at thinking under pressure, and brought Rex back to reality by commanding some authority.

Rex nodded, blinking a bit to clear his mind, and then dropping his voice to a threatening whisper. "First of all, who are you, and what makes you think that we'll come quietly?" He asked, narrowing his eyes and staring down the scientist.

Rex, Almos, and Lena all remembered _too_ well what had happened at the Striaton gym, and none of them wanted a repeat of that battle. An ex-gym leader requesting their audience was a clear red flag to Rex, and he was determined to be smart enough to decline this offer.

The scientist-man looked genuinely confused, scratching his head and backing away. "Come quietly? What do you mean by that? I don't want to force you into doing anything!" He exclaimed, shrugging.

Now, both Rex and the man were confused. "Wait, wha-" Rex started, but was interrupted by Lena jumping forward and slamming the scientist man against a wall, pinning him.

"You know what you're here for, don't act dumb!" She growled, trying to be menacing. It was like she was trying to mimic one of the characters in those secret agent movies, and was doing a very bad job of it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He stammered, looking scared even though Lena was practically a foot shorter then him. "Please! I don't want to cause trouble!"

"Lena!" Rex hissed, prying her off the man before she could do any damage. "People. Are. Staring." Sure enough, the whole room was looking at them, with wide eyes. He grabbed the collar of her shirt, and yanked her back. She smiled sheepishly, before turning to address the crowd of onlookers.

"Sorry, civilians! Go back to your daily lives," She said, smiling while striking a heroic pose.

Both Rex and Almos groaned, face-palming. "W-why don't we go somewhere where there's not a lot of people, and t-then we'll talk?" Almos suggested, helping the scientist back up. He nodded meekly.

Rex opened the door to the outside, motioning for the man to go first. The scientist quickly scurried out of the cafe, Lena following close behind. Almos had to pull her back before she seriously scared the man. She frowned at him, and the trio followed him down the street. They walked past a few people, but it appeared that most of the civilians were in their homes.

"Ok, this is good." Rex instructed, stopping the group. They had arrived at the corner of town, somewhere where there were almost no witnesses. He turned slightly to stare the scientist right in the eye. "First things first, who are you?" He needed to know the basic facts, before he jumped to drastic conclusions and beat the man up.

The man nodded, adjusting his glasses before speaking, "My name is Hawes, I work at the museum, and I am Lenora's husband." He explained, seeming relieved that Lena had stopped trying to attack him.

"Good." Rex said, nodding and mulling over the information.

Almos took over the interrogation, turning towards Hawes to stare him down. "Why did Lenora w-want to speak w-with us?" The Zoroark demanded.

The man thought for a moment, before his eyes lit up in a solution. "This will explain everything," Hawes said, holding out a braided bracelet. The trio studied it, confused. It was woven very neatly, made up of three colors, red, white, and black, and a poke ball charm hung in the middle.

"What is this supposed to mean?!" Lena demanded, grabbing the bracelet out of Hawes' hands and looking at it. There certainly wasn't anything obviously special about the bracelet. In fact, it looked rather plain.

"You mean, you don't know what it means?" He said, just as confused as they were. "But, you came to Unova to defeat Team Plasma! How could you not know what that means?!"

Rex shrugged. "Dude, it just looks like some bracelet that a kid would make at camp or something." He said, grabbing the bracelet away from Lena and studying it. There were no messages engraved into it, no secret buttons that would transform the bracelet into a secret weapon, or anything out of the ordinary.

"That's not just any bracelet!" Hawes said defensively, taking the bracelet away from Rex and putting it back on. "It's symbolic."

"A symbolic _bracelet_?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow. Neither Rex nor Almos, in all their years of training, had heard of this. They had heard of friendship bracelets and stuff like that, but this bracelet didn't seem special in any way.

"T-that sounds s-strange!" Almos remarked, snickering.

Hawes glowered at them. "No! I mean... Ugh, just come with me to see Lenora!" He said, waving his hands in exasperation. Hawes was getting very fed up with the group, as he was no good at explaining things, and just wanted them to do what Leonora asked.

"Hey! No way, the last time we were invited to see some gym leaders it did NOT end well." Rex said, shaking his head.

"What happened? Do tell," Hawes said, pushing up his glasses.

"No!" The trio screamed at the same time, glaring at Hawes. He shrunk back, muttering something.

"Listen," Rex sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration, "We just want to be on our merry way to go blow up more Team Plasma stuff and save Unova. If you've got a prob-"

"No! I want to- I mean _we_ want to help you," Hawes exclaimed, cutting Rex off. "We want to save Unova as well!"

The trio looked at each other skeptically. "W-who's 'we'?" Almos asked, looking around to see if there were people hiding in the bushes or behind trees.

"The Resistance."

* * *

Rex just wanted answers by now. Here he was, waiting in front of the Nacrene City Gym leader, and she wasn't even saying anything! She just appeared to be... studying them with piercing eyes. Frankly, it creeped the whole group out a lot.

"Um... Hello?!" Lena decided to be the one to break the silence, waving her arms to add to the effect. Both Rex and Almos jumped at her sudden outburst, and she smiled sheepishly at them.

Leonora smiled kindly, snapped out of her trance as well, "Sorry. I just was thinking about something..." She said, shaking the thought off. "Anyways, I'd expect you want some answers, hmm?"

"Yes!" They all cried in unison.

She laughed at their eagerness, but then shrugged sadly and sighed, "Well, I'm afraid I don't have many answers to give you."

"Any information would be h-helpful, Miss Leonora," Almos said, bowing his head respectfully.

"Well, then I'll tell you all that I know," The Ex gym-leader said, sighing as she collected her thoughts, "As you all know, Team Plasma has become extremely popular with the general public. Gym leaders and trainers who we thought were anti-plasma have now sworn their loyalty to them. Somehow, it doesn't make any sense..." She trailed off, staring into space as if contemplating something. Lenora shook her head, snapping herself out of her trance again. "I apologize, I'm digressing! So naturally, if there's a pro-plasma group, there's bound to be an anti-plasma group. That's where this bracelet comes in." She held up her own poke-charm.

"The Resistance?" Lena guessed.

"Exactly!" Lenora praised, "The Resistance. A group bent on destroying Team Plasma."

"So, what else do you know?!" Rex demanded. So far, they had gotten no information about Team Plasma itself, which was what Rex had been hoping for.

"I'm afraid that's all I know." Lenora said, shaking her head, "But, I'm here to offer you something. You have done miraculously in taking down the Team Plasma headquarter in Accumula town. Just imagine what you could do with re-enforcements! That's why I'm asking you to join the resistance and fight along side us."

Before anyone else in the trio could react, Rex shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we just can't trust you right now." He said calmly, turning around to walk away.

"Rex is r-right," Almos agreed, following Rex out.

"Wait!" Lenora called after them, "You three aren't the most promising 'heroes' to be thinking of taking down Team Plasma all by yourself." She said, crossing her arms, "I'll have to test you."

Rex snorted, "No way, lady! I'm not falling for any of your tricks." He shook his head, and prepared to leave.

"Not you, Ranger," Lenora said, "I know _you_ can take care of yourself! I'm talking about Miss Shock."

"Me?" Lena asked, pointing to herself, "But, I can totally take care of myself! I mean, look at what I've done so far!"

"Tell me, Miss Shock... Do your parents know that you're doing this?" Lenora asked slyly, studying Lena with Noctowl-like eyes.

"Um... I was planning on telling them later," Lena protested, biting her lip. She seemed a bit ashamed of herself.

"And just what makes you think that a little rich girl who's barely had experience with the_ real, _unsheltered world before, take down a government? Really, Miss Shock, you're smarter then that to get involved." Lenora said, shaking her head sadly, "I know your parents well from studying abroad, a long the ago, and I don't know what they'd think."

Lena didn't answer, shrinking down and hanging her head, ashamed of herself. Rex had never seen her this defeated before. He knew she had been sheltered as a kid, but he never thought she was too weak to handle herself.

"Hey! You listen here," Rex demanded, jumping in to defend Lena, "Lena's been awesome on this journey so far, and it would be crazy to say that she couldn't defend herself! She's smart, thinks well under pressure, and can defiantly take care of herself."

Lena's head snapped back up, inspired by Rex's speech, "Yeah! I know I can take care of myself. I may not be the best trainer yet... but I'll become really powerful so I can make a difference here!"

"So you're a trainer?" Lenora asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah!" Lena nodded eagerly.

"Hm... Well, how about this. I'll test you with a battle, to see if you can really take care of yourself. How does that sound?" Lenora offered, her eyes sparkling.

"I accept." Lena said, nodding curtly. Her eyes were sparkling eagerly as well, excited to have the chance to prove herself. Rex smiled at her, impressed that she was able to hold her ground.

"A-are you sure t-this is a good idea?" Almos whispered to Rex, worried.

"Yes." Rex nodded, confident in Lena, "She's a good trainer. She'll be able to win... I hope."

"I _hope?! _What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, this technically is her first official battle," Rex said, shrugging the fact off.

"She's doomed," Almos deadpanned, shaking his head.

"Aw, come on! Stop being such a pessimist," Rex exclaimed, pushing Almos playfully, "I mean, it's not like she's going to freeze up and forget what moves that Archen knows, right?"

* * *

Lena stepped up to the battlefield, shaking. She knew she shouldn't be this nervous... she couldn't recall when she had _ever_ been this nervous! _Relax..._ She thought to herself, taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts, _I just need to prove myself by battling a gym leader, even though I've never professionally battled before!_ She gulped, suddenly taking in the reality of the situation.

"Are you ready, Miss Shock?" Lenora called from across the battlefield. They had conveniently used the old gym's battlefield, which was located just under the museum.

Lena slowly nodded, taking another deep breath. Suddenly, she froze, her mind blank on what to do next.

"Lena! Call out your Archen to battle," Rex hinted, sitting on the sidelines to watch.

"I knew that!" She screamed back at him. She took another breath, reaching into her bag for Chenly's Pokeball. She quickly threw it out onto the field, without so much of an introduction. She looked up, only to see that Lenora had already thrown out her powerful-looking Watchog, and was politely waiting for Lena to make the first move.

"Oh! Um, Chenly, use-..." She couldn't remember any of her Pokemon's Moves. "U-use... um... Just attack the damn thing! With all the power you've got!" She screamed, stamping her foot in frustration. Chenly didn't even hesitate, charging at the Watchog headfirst.

Lenora frowned, tilting her head to think. "Dodge," She stated simply, watching as the Watchog dodged flawlessly. "Use Crunch!" Almost immediately, the Watchog whipped around, catching Chenly's wing in it's jaws and clamping down hard.

"Use Rock Throw!" Lena didn't even hesitate to give the command, her face set in determination. Chenly, taking advantage of the close-range, quickly tore out a chunk of the ground with his free hand and slamming it into the Watchog's head.

"Use Leer," Lenora didn't waste time as well, calmly ordering the attack as if were no big deal. The Watchog turned to face Chenly, piercing him with a fierce gaze. The ancient bird Pokemon shivered at the stare, and he slowly backed away.

Lena glared at Lenora, not understanding how she could be so calm under pressure. _What is she planning?_ Lena thought, biting her lip, _Is it a battle strategy? Is she sizing up Chenly, and determining her next attack? Did she plan this all out, or is she just winging it? _Lena herself was shaking with nerves, even though she was determined to win this battle and prove her worth. "Attack it with your wing!" Lena commanded, a new battle plan forming in her mind.

Chenly quickly flipped around to face the Watchog, battering it with his wing hard. Stunned with the unique battle strategy, the Watchog backed up, trying to block the shots with its arm. "Now, use Rock Throw!" Taking advantage of the Watchog's stupor, Chenly quickly ripped out another piece of the battlefield and chucked it at the enemy's head.

"Dodge." But it was already a bit too late, and the Watchog was caught on the side with the rock and thrown back. Lenora smiled, "Huh, nice job Lena. You're already planning and devising strategies, using things such as fear and brute power to take the upper hand..." Lena grinned with pride, her eyes sparkling. "...But, is that enough to win?"

"Huh?!"

"Watchog, use Hypnosis!" The Watchog whipped around, fixing the ancient Pokemon with a lulling gaze. Chenly slumped to the floor, sleeping deeply.

"Chenly! Get up!" Lena commanded, a bit of fear in her voice. The Archen didn't even stir.

"Tsk tsk," Lenora said playfully, "Use crunch!" The Watchog immediately sprang for the ancient bird Pokemon, his jaws wide open, and bit down on Chenly's wing. Lena could hear the bone-snapping _crack! _from where she was standing.

"Get up! Use Rock Throw!" Lena ordered, but it came out more like a beg. No response.

"Again." The Watchog bit down again, even harder then the first time. Both Lena, Rex, and Almos visibly winced at the cracks that followed.

"Please! Wake up!" Lena pleaded. She hated seeing this, and she could do nothing but stand and watch.

"Again!" Another bone-shattering crunch. Chenly was in a too-deep hypnosis to even register the pain, much less wake up. Lenora smiled, seeing that her battle was won.

"Wake up now!" Lena screamed, stamping her foot in frustration. Hearing the desperation in his trainer's voice, miraculously the bird Pokemon's eyes opened. He let out a squawk, noticing the pain in his wing. "Yes!" Lena shouted in relief, "Use Rock th-"

"Crunch." And before Chenly could react, the Watchog delivered the final blow, sending the ancient bird Pokemon into unconsciousness.

"W-what?!" Lena gasped, her hope of proving herself shattering. She could do nothing but stare in shock.

"She... Lost?" Rex murmured, his voice full of disappointment. He couldn't believe it as well. It had looked like she was going to make a comeback, but to have it shattered so fast was truly stunning.

"Th-hat was over s-so quickly, too quickly..." Almos speculated, shaking his head sadly., "I g-guess she really wasn't a m-match for a fully trained g-gym leader..."

Lena didn't move. She only simply called Chenly back into his ball, her head hanging with regret. "You did your best," She whispered quietly, so no one else could hear here, "I'll be a better trainer in the future, I promise."

Loud applause broke the trio out of their sadness. "Wonderful! That was a truly great battle," Lenora praised, walking over to Lena to congratulate her.

"But... I lost!" Lena protested.

Lenora shook her head, smiling. "I didn't even expect you to win!" She laughed, "Hell, I didn't even expect you to come that close to winning against me, and yet you did!"

Rex and Almos came running up to Lena's side. "So, did she prove herself?!" Rex demanded.

"Above and beyond," Lenora said, nodding her head in satisfaction. "So, how does a real battle feel like? Not those sugar-coated ones on TV, but the real battle you just witnessed."

"..." Lena thought for a moment, re-playing the battle in her head. "Vulgar." She stated simply, "Real battles are... nothing like I expected them."

Lenora laughed, "And this barely qualifies as a 'real' battle! I sugar-coated most of it."

Lena frowned. "I don't know why I should be so shocked by this." She shook her head. "I mean, I've fought against the Striaton Leaders using Chenly, and that was way more brutal then this!" She sighed, "I guess I never thought that battles... The ones that are shown on TV publicly, could be this rough. Battling the Striaton Leaders was more like a war then a battle."

Lenora smiled, "Well anyways, you've proven your worth. I truly believe you have the ability to survive on your own, and the potential to save Unova."

"And that's what we're going to do!" Rex grinned, fist-pumping.

"Yeah!" And for a moment there, everything was coming up roses.

"Hey, um... Lenora?" The group turned to see Hawes running up to them, a panicked look on his face. He seemed disheveled, his glasses crooked and his lab-coat crumpled. "Hate to spoil this... But Team Plasma has been sniffing around here, and I think it was best if out guests could leave now. That is, if everything's settled now!"

"We understand, sir," Rex said, nodding respectfully. "We'll leave now." The trio turned to walk away, still cheerful from Lenora's complements.

"Wait! Rex..." Lenora stopped the Ranger, studying him sternly, "You should think about my offer, to join the Resistance. It could be usef-"

"Sorry," Rex cut her off with a wave of his hand, leading his group out the door, "But right now, I don't know who I can trust." The door slammed shut behind them, leaving a stunned Hawes and a disappointed Lenora.

"Silly Ranger," Lenora said wistfully, shaking her head, "I don't think he know's what he's just jumped into."

* * *

Once again, I am extremely sorry for this late updates, and for all the late updates to come! If Lena had a theme song, it would probably be something like "Morning Person" from Shrek the Musical.

As for accomplishing anything in this chapter, we _did_ get a short battle scene in! _And_ we reached ten chapters! YAY! Double digits! Thank you all for clicking on this link and taking the time to read this chapter.

See you next time! (Whenever that may be!)

~Miss Optimism


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